King Charles has sparked some concern after his meeting with President Joe Biden this week.
President Biden arrived at Windsor Castle on July 10 to be greeted by an honour guard who played God Save the King and The Star-Spangled Banner.
King Charles and Joe Biden
During the meeting, Biden put his hand on the monarch’s back, something that’s not traditionally done in the UK. However, one royal source told CNN that the President did follow protocol when meeting the King.
The King and the President have met a number of times before. In 2015, they met in the Oval Office of the White House with the then-President Barack Obama. And two years ago, they met at the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
But after Monday’s meeting, some royal fans expressed concern for the King.
Concern for the King
One asked: “Anyone know what’s going on with Charles’ fingers?”
Another said: “Is King Charles okay? It looks like his fingers are really swollen.”
Another wrote: “King Charles’ fingers look like they are going to crush Biden’s hand”, while another compared his fingers to sausages.
Is King Charles okay? It looks like his fingers are really swollen.
It’s not the first time people online have expressed fears for the King’s health after seeing his hands and fingers. When he met former Prime Minister Liz Truss last year, a number of royal fans headed to Twitter to discuss his digits.
One said: “Can someone please tell me what’s wrong with Charles’ fingers? It’s keeping me up at night.”
Another simply asked: “Why’s Charles got chubby fingers?”
King Charles’ fingers explained
Back in May, a GP, Dr Chun Tang, told the Daily Mail that the King’s “sausage fingers”, formally known as dactylitis, result from inflammation, and could be caused by arthritis. Other potential causes for dactylitis include bacterial infections, high salt levels, autoimmune conditions, and even tuberculosis.
However, King Charles‘ dactylitis doesn’t appear to be a recent development. When Prince William was born, his father sent a letter to a friend in which he reportedly said: “I can’t tell you how excited and proud I am. He really does look surprisingly appetising and has sausage fingers just like mine.”
And it’s been reported that the late Queen also remarked on her eldest son’s fingers in a letter to her old music teacher, writing: “The baby is very sweet and we are enormously proud of him. He has an interesting pair of hands for a baby.
“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.”
Read more: ‘Concerned’ King Charles seen ‘fussing and fretting over Camilla’ during service
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