King Charles’ medical records: This is what is known about the monarch’s health

It is said that the nature-loving king swears by homeopathic remedies, but with an illness as serious as the one now under discussion, he is more likely to place himself in the hands of renowned specialists. Until now it had always been said that Charles and his wife Camilla were made of tough stuff, but there had also been health crises in the king’s life before, which were widely reported on.

A look at Charles publicly confirmed illnesses

Numerous fractures during equestrian sports
Charles has long shared a great passion for horses and equestrian sports with his late mother, the Queen. However, the passionate polo player ended his active time at the age of 57. Not least because he had suffered numerous fractures over the years. In 1990, according to the AP news agency, he broke his right arm in two places when he fell from a horse during a polo game. According to the BBC, eight years later he broke his ribs, which he also suffered when he fell from a horse, albeit while hunting. In the same year, Charles underwent surgery on his right knee due to cartilage damage. In 2001, the monarch fell from his horse again in the middle of a polo match and shortly afterwards broke a bone in his shoulder while fox hunting. In 2005 he finally retired from polo as an active player.

Swollen hands – “sausage fingers”
“Sausage fingers” – that’s what Charles himself called his hands in the BBC documentary “Charles III: The Coronation Year”. When William fastened a small brooch on a robe for him, the king said, “No, you don’t have sausage fingers like I do.” Charles has never officially spoken about what the cause is or whether it is even an illness. However, you could see on official pictures that the fingers were swollen to a greater or lesser extent. The online portal “Today” even spoke about this with the doctor Dr. Jeffrey Linder, chief of internal medicine at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago: “Heart, liver and kidney diseases are common causes of swelling, but they usually affect the entire body.” But this is not the case with Charles. There is always talk about osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis on the Internet. Other forms of arthritis or inflammation can also be possible causes. The swelling may not be anything serious, as Charles is said to have joked when William was born that he hadn’t inherited his fingers.

King Charles had the same illness as his parents

Growth on the nose
In 2008, Charles had to have benign growths removed from his face. More specifically, on his nose. His parents, Prince Philip in 1996 and the Queen in 2003, had already had to go under the knife because of skin lesions, AP said. Shortly after the procedure, the prince arrived at his next official appointment, a tree planting ceremony at the Highgrove estate, with a small plaster on his nose.

Inguinal hernia
In 2003, the then-Prince of Wales had to undergo surgery for a hernia, also known as an inguinal hernia. The operation is purely routine for surgeons and is now usually carried out minimally invasively. The Wesseling Hospital writes in an explanation of this operation on its homepage: “A hernia (Latin hernia, ‘break’) is a protrusion of the peritoneum through a gap (hern opening) in the abdominal wall or on the diaphragm. Such so-called visceral hernias occur occur frequently; around two to four percent of the population are affected.”

corona-Double hit
Charles had to struggle with the corona virus twice. He became ill for the first time at the end of March 2020, and Clarence House announced at the time that Charles was only struggling with mild symptoms. In February 2022, almost two years later, it hit him again. But even with this infection, he was able to return to his duties after a good week. According to the BBC, the king has been vaccinated against the corona virus several times.

The king has his back
The well-known entries in the king’s medical records also include back pain. Apparently even chronic ones, because it is rumored that Charles always has a seat cushion with him. And at official state banquets he is said to insist on a velvet cushion.

Prostate enlargement
Just over a week ago, King Charles left the London Clinic in a good mood, where he had undergone treatment for prostate enlargement. Charles probably did not know at the time that a form of cancer had also been found, which the palace announced last Monday. However, the cancer should not originate in the prostate. The king decided to make his illness public in order to avoid speculation, according to the palace statement.

Sources: , , , ,

+++ Read also +++