The Queen spoke about her newborn son’s hands in a letter shortly after his birth
Sign up for our Daily Newsletter for the latest local news straight to your inbox
We have more newsletters
People have noticed before that King Charles III has somewhat peculiar looking hands, even to the point where he himself has described them as "sausage fingers" – but it turns out his hands have not just been a recent point of discussion. In letters to her old music teacher, his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, spoke about her eldest son's "interesting" hands.
The then Princess Elizabeth – who was heir to the throne occupied by her father George VI – spent days with her son in a specially converted nursery in Buckingham Palace's Buhl Room in November 1948. It now appears that in these early days, the future King's hands were a talking point, the Mirror reports.
In her letter, The Queen wrote: "The baby is very sweet and we are enormously proud of him. He has an interesting pair of hands for a baby.
Read more:Huw Edwards' 'bloodshot eyes' spark concerns for BBC newsreader
"They are rather large, but with fine long fingers quite unlike mine and certainly unlike his father's. It will be interesting to see what they become. I still find it hard to believe I have a baby of my own."
Now, a doctor has explained what might be the cause of King Charles' swollen fingers. Dr Gareth Nye said the cause could be oedema, which causes the body to retain water, leading to swelling.
Dr Nye said: "Oedema is a condition where the body starts to retain fluids in the limbs, normally the legs and ankles but also in the fingers, which causes them to swell. To see if this is the cause, pressing the swollen area for about 15 seconds would cause a depression in the area."
The doctor also suggested that older people can develop the condition if they sit a lot or it could be because of a high salt diet or linked to medications like those for high blood pressure. He also said the "sausage fingers" could be a sign of arthritis.
"Arthritis – another common condition in the over 60s," Dr Nye said. "It often affects three main areas in the hand – the thumb joint or either joints in the fingers. Fingers usually become stiff, painful and swollen and although medication can help with the pain, the swelling can remain."
According to the NHS website, oedema is usually caused by the following:
It can also caused by these:
READ NEXT
Man's tweet predicting date of Queen's death goes viral – and he's also guessed when King Charles will die
King Charles III's Coronation: Bank Holiday decision to be made 'nearer the time'
Morrisons shoppers claim supermarket has 'turned beeps off' as mark of respect for the Queen
Announcement made on future home for Queen's corgis
King Charles III doesn't eat lunch, has fruit and seeds for breakfast and works until midnight