King Charles and the various injuries, ailments and health issues that have plagued him over his 75 years

While the cancer diagnosis is King Charles’ biggest health battle yet, he has faced a series of struggles over his 75 years.

The cancer shock came on the back of treatment for an enlarged prostate, for which he spent three nights in a London hospital.

The King acknowledged his declining health as he ages, jokingly telling a crowd in Brisbane in 2018: “I don’t know about you but now bits of me keep falling off at regular intervals.”

His love of polo and fox hunting have been the cause of many of his most painful injuries.

Here we delve into the various ailments that have pained Charles over the years.

SAUSAGE FINGERS

Ever since Charles took over the throne from his mum Queen Elizabeth II, his enlarged fingers have been the topic of hot discussion.

Medical experts have been quick to weigh in on the topic, with University of Chester senior lecturer Gareth Nye saying there were “loads of conditions” that could lead to swollen fingers.

“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,” he said.

“Oedema is a common condition and mostly affects people over the age of 65 as the ability for fluid control is restricted.”

Manchester GP Chung Tang also gave an insight into the “sausage fingers” condition.

“Often puffy fingers are a symptom of water retention which can be caused by numerous health conditions,” he said.

“This condition arises due to inflammation and can be a result of arthritis, multiple bacterial infections or even TB.

“Other possibilities include high salt levels, allergic reactions, medicinal side effects, injury and autoimmune diseases.”

Charles has in the past taken a light-hearted approach to the appearance of his digits, referring to himself as having “sausage fingers” in a letter to a friend after Prince William was born.

Charles has never confirmed what causes his “sausage fingers”, though it is believed he has dactylitis — a severe swelling that affects fingers and toes.

NECK AND BACK PAIN

Charles is not immune from the everyday ills such as neck and back pain.

Prince Harry revealed some details in his memoir Spare, saying his father had “constant neck and back pain”.

Charles slipped a disc in the early 1990s. Two years later he further hurt his back when he fell off a horse at Windsor.

It is believed his often assumed walking style — of interlinking his fingers behind his back — is a therapeutic trick to help ease his back pain.

Charles nearly always travels with a special cushion to help ease the pain.

COVID-19

The King caught COVID in March 2020 and again in February 2022 but, thankfully, only had mild symptoms.

The first time around, he isolated and lost his sense of taste and smell.

He later told of the “strange, frustrating and often distressing” experience of being isolated from friends and family during lockdown.

NON-CANCEROUS GROWTH

Charles underwent a minor procedure in 2008 to remove a non-cancerous growth from his face.

He was later seen wearing an hexagonal plaster on the right side of his nose.

Few details were given at the time other than to say it was a “minor surgical procedure” and a “routine and minor matter”.

POLO WOES

The King broke his right arm after falling from his horse during a polo match in 1990.

He was trying to cut off an opponent when he lost his balance and fell between two horses, one of which kicked him in the arm.

It was described as a “nasty break above the right elbow”.

In an operation, bone was taken from his hip and packed around the break and a metal plate was secured with screws.

Charles spent three nights in hospital.

It was the third time he had been hurt in a polo match. In 1980, he was thrown and kicked by his pony and needed six stitches on his cheek.

And in a match in 1981, he damaged his larynx after the ball hit him in the throat. He lost his voice for 10 days.

In August 2001, he had yet another polio fall and was knocked unconscious.

He was in danger of swallowing his tongue until a paramedic rushed to his side.

He was stretchered off the pitch but despite severe bruising, he did not break a bone.

FOX FALLS

During a fox hunt in Wales in January 1998, Charles fell from his horse and broke a rib.

And in January 2001 while on a fox hunt in Derbyshire, he fell awkwardly and broke his acromion, a small bone on the edge of the shoulder blade.

He had to wear a sling until the fracture healed.

KNEE SURGERY

Charles needed keyhole laser surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his right knee in 1998.

It came after his left knee was operated on a number of years earlier.

The damage to both knees was thought to have been caused by years of trekking, skiing and playing polo.

SCRATCHED CORNEA

In November 2001, Charles had his cornea scratched after he getting sawdust in his eye while chopping a branch off a tree at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.

With his vision impaired, he had to wear a patch over his eye at a meeting of business leaders.

GREEN THUMB

In another incident while tending to his gardens, he accidentally hit his thumb with a mallet and broke his finger, almost severing the tip.

HERNIA

Charles had an operation on a painful hernia, believed to have been caused by a gardening injury, in March 2003.

After being discharged, he joked: “Hernia today, gone tomorrow.”

APPENDIX

As a 13-year-old in February 1962, the King was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital to stop his appendix “exploding”.

Talking about the experience on a visit the hospital many years later, he said: “I got here just in time before the thing exploded and was happily operated on and looked after by the nurses.”