For months, the world kept a watchful eye on Queen Elizabeth's health.
Now, all eyes are on King Charles III – and some people are already concerned about what they see.
With the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at age 96, global attention turned to
the United Kingdom's new monarch.
On the day after his mother died, King Charles III addressed the nation and the world to
pay tribute to the late queen.
"I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow."
In the speech, King Charles also announced that his eldest son, William, and William's
wife, Catherine, were now the Prince and Princess of Wales, assuming the titles previously held
by Charles himself and his late wife, Diana.
King Charles III was 73 when his mother died, and the added visibility afforded by the queen's
passing has led some to notice an unusual physical characteristic of the new monarch.
As observers have noted, King Charles III has unusually swollen, red fingers, the appearance
of which is sometimes alarming.
Mention of King Charles III's fingers came up on Twitter from both sides of the Atlantic,
with @barstoolsports tweeting,
"Not Nearly Enough People Are Discussing the Comical Size of King Charles' Fingers."
Other users described his big fingers with blunt terms, with many posting pictures of
the King and comparing his fingers to sausages.
What might cause King Charles' fingers to appear so swollen remains unconfirmed, medical
experts have now offered some theories.
To get to the bottom of why King Charles' fingers look like they do, the Daily Star
asked Dr. Gareth Nye, Senior Lecturer at the University of Chester, what might cause the problem.
Dr. Nye suggested that a number of common medical conditions could be to blame, and
among the most likely explanations might be edema.
According to the Mayo Clinic, edema is an extra build-up fluid in body tissue, often
in the hands, legs, and feet.
Speaking with the Daily Star, Dr. Nye calls edema a common condition that mostly affects
people over the age of 65, as their bodies lose the ability to efficiently control the
flow of fluid in their systems.
Edema can be caused by a number of underlying diseases like congestive heart failure, cirrhosis
of the liver, kidney failure, or sometimes certain medications.
Medication is used to treat the condition, separate from the specific treatment of what
may have caused it.
Limiting dietary salt intake is another way to address the problem.
As Dr. Nye goes on to explain, on top of those possible medical conditions, King Charles
III might also be living with arthritis, a common enough condition for people his age.
One side effect of psoriatic arthritis, which often affects the hands, is swollen fingers.
Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis might also be causes of the condition.
Arthritis, Dr. Nye said,
"... 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."
Regardless of what may be the root cause of England's new King Charles III's puffy fingers,
Dr. Nye also said it's unlikely to indicate a serious health concern, and that those swollen
fingers are most likely explained by the king's age — he'll turn 74 in November.
Not to undermine any of the medical seriousness surrounding King Charles III's apparent swelling,
but even his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, described her son as having unusual hands
shortly after his birth.
The Mirror reports her writing in a letter about her newborn,
"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!"
Others have noticed King Charles' heavy-set hands throughout his life.
Back in 2012, Charles himself referred to his digits as "sausage fingers" while on a
trip to Australia.
Hotter climates and long flights also seemed to exacerbate the swelling.
Swollen hands on flights isn't an uncommon occurrence at all, in fact, as Mayo Clinic
explains, as appendages generally tend to swell if they remain immobile for long periods
of time.
At present, the UK National Health Service has gotten on board the discussion by offering
advice to people about how to cope with swollen limbs.
The advice includes some common sense items like drinking enough water, walking around
a bit, and gently massaging the affected area – or just maybe, if you're King, having
someone close at hand do it for you.