In past appearances, King Charles’ swollen fingers have often been the centre of attention, with many people wondering why his hands and feet occasionally look engorged.
This was most noticeable when he was seen out with painfully swollen hands and feet on a tour in India tour in 2019.
The now 75-year-old is in the midst of a tour in Australia and New Zealand, where his hands still appeared slightly larger than normal.
The King often suffers from swollen hands and feet during foreign trips, especially to hot climates.
Long-flights can often make digits swell up and during a tour of Australia in 2012 he joked about his ‘sausage fingers.’
Experts say it can be caused by anything from water retention to poor circulation or even arthritis.
On the 2019 tour, his hands appeared red while the signet ring he wears on his left hand appeared to be tighter.
Though he hasn’t disclosed the official reason behind his swollen fingers and toes, the King seemingly finds humour in it.
In a documentary about his coronation, Prince William was struggling with a clasp on his father’s outfit, and remarked: ‘On the day, that’s not going to go in.’
Charles replied: ‘No, you haven’t got sausage fingers like mine.’
Camilla and Charles just finished their tour in Australia and have arrived in Samoa for a four-day visit.
The royal couple flew to the Polynesian nation, which is hosting a major gathering of Commonwealth leaders, after their tour of Australia – the first by Charles as King.
Charles will preside over the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, taking part for the first time as its head.
He will formally open the global summit on Friday but plays no part in the discussions between the presidents and prime ministers – including Sir Keir Starmer – which take place informally behind closed doors and unusually no advisers or aides are present.
Soon after the Royal Australian Air Force plane carrying the King and his wife Camilla left Sydney the couple posted a message on social media under their names.
Samoa’s prime minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and a long line of dignitaries were waiting to welcome the King and Queen, including the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, when their plane arrived at Faleolo International Airport.
Charles stood on a dais for the national anthem to be played and then inspected two ranks of a guard of honour formed by the Samoa Police Service.
Like many Pacific Islands Samoa has no armed forces and Charles cast his eye over the officers before going inside the terminal building for a private meeting with the Samoan prime minister.
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