HEALTH CONCERNS
King Charles’ health battles before cancer diagnosis – including chronic neck pain & broken rib
Read on to discover what medical attention the King has needed
KING Charles has faced a number of health battles in his life before being given a cancer diagnosis.
The monarch, like anyone who is 75-years-old, has faced a number of issues with his health over the years, including chronic neck pain and broken bones.
7
7
Charles has been diagnosed with cancer after being treated for an enlarged prostate at a London hospital.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said a "separate issue of concern was noted" after Charles spent three nights in hospital last month.
It is hoped that Charles's decision to share details of his diagnosis may help public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer.
In a statement on Monday, Buckingham Palace said the King "is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure".
Read More on King Charles
He has begun a schedule of regular treatments, during which he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties, the Palace said.
The King is understood to have notified his siblings and children personally, with Prince Harry flying to the UK today to support his dad.
Meghan will remain at their Montecito mansion in California with their children Archie, four, and two-year-old Lilibet.
Charles has often joked about his declining physical health as he gets older.
Most read in Royals
In Brisbane in 2018, he told a crowd: “I don't know about you but now bits of me keep falling off at regular intervals.”
Here are the aches and pains the monarch has suffered in his life.
King Charles waves as he walks to church in first sighting since leaving hospital following prostate surgery
CHRONIC NECK AND BACK PAIN
7
Like many people, Charles has had problems with his neck and back pain.
Prince Harry revealed some details in his memoir Spare saying he suffered from “constant neck and back pain” which he partly thought was due to his old polo injuries.
Figures show that around one in 13 adults suffer from chronic back pain, with eight in 10 people suffering from some form of back pain during their life.
Charles slipped a disco in the early 1990s, which caused him to miss Royal Ascot in 1991.
Then he aggravated the injury two years later when he fell off a horse at Windsor.
It’s thought his often assumed walking style, of interlinking his fingers behind his back, is a therapeutic trick to help ease the pain in his back.
Charles never travelled on royal tours without a special cushion, usually a tartan one, which he used to ease back pain.
A red velvet one is always placed on the King's chair during state banquets at Buckingham Palace.
In 2003, during an engagement at a Sikh temple in Southall, west London, he told the congregation that he would need a little of their expert care as he sat on the hard floor.
"I don't think I have ever needed an osteopath so much as I have today," he joked.
"My back is not altogether geared to sitting on the floor, so I may need some help on my way out."
SAUSAGE FINGERS
7
Charles also suffers from what he calls “sausage fingers”.
Previously, GP Chung Tang, Medical Director at Pall Mall Medical in Manchester, gave an insight into what might cause the condition.
He said: “There are numerous reasons a person may suffer with 'sausage' fingers.
“Often puffy fingers are a symptom of water retention which can be caused by numerous health conditions.
“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.
“Treatment for this condition can be determined when the underlying cause is identified.
“A blood test should be carried out to determine the underlying issues.”
The good-humoured King has joked about the appearance of his hands, even calling them his “sausage fingers” in a letter to a pal when he was describing his then newborn son, Prince William.
The King though has had large hands from a young age and was referred to by Queen Elizabeth in a letter to her music teacher after Charles was born.
He has never confirmed what the cause of the predicament is.
COVID-19
In March 2020, Charles, then 71, caught Covid-19 before vaccinations were available, but only had mild symptoms.
He isolated at Birkhall, Aberdeenshire, away from the then-Duchess of Cornwall, who tested negative, and carried on working at his desk.
He lost his sense of taste and smell for a time, and later spoke of the "strange, frustrating and often distressing" experience of being without friends and relatives during lockdown. He caught Covid for a second time in February 2022, but was triple-vaccinated.
What we know so far:
- The King has been diagnosed with a form of cancer
- Prince Harry is flying to the UK to support his father
- Meghan will remain in California with their children
- The King personally called his siblings and children to tell them
- He is receiving expert care from specialist doctors
- His Majesty returned from Sandringham to London to begin treatment
- Doctors advised the King to postpone public-facing Royal duties
- Camilla is preparing to play an important role supporting the King
- Charles will continue to receive Red Boxes and State documents during his treatment
- The King will continue to meet the Prime Minister for a weekly audience
NON-CANCEROUS GROWTH
Charles underwent a minor procedure in 2008 to remove a non-cancerous growth from his face.
He was spotted wearing a small, hexagonal plaster on the right side of his nose following the surgery in May that year at Clarence House, his London residence.
Few details were given at the time other than to state it was a “minor surgical procedure” and a “routine and minor matter”.
Both Charles’ parents also underwent minor surgery to have growths on their faces removed.
Prince Philip had a minor procedure in 1996 to get rid of a small benign growth on his nose.
The Queen also had minor - non-cancerous - growths removed from her face by surgeons in January 2003.
BROKEN BONES
7
During a polo match in Cirencester in 1990 Charles, then 41, broke his right arm after falling from his horse during the second chukka.
As Charles was trying to cut off an opponent, his pony swerved to the right as he attempted to perform a backhand shot and the future king lost his balance, falling between two horses, one of which kicked him in the arm.
A spokesman called it a “nasty break above the right elbow”.
Charles spent three nights in hospital and described his injury as a “silly thing to do”.
However, the wound didn’t heal properly causing him pain and doctors warned that if it wasn’t treated, it could leave him unable to salute.
In an operation, bone was taken from his hip and packed around the break and a metal plate was secured with screws.
He was discharged from hospital a week later and was back playing polo within the year.
Then in January 2001 during a fox hunt in Derbyshire, the horse he was riding made an “unexpected jump,” tossing him to the ground.
He fell awkwardly and it was thought he had dislocated his shoulder.
Charles was rushed to a nearby hospital by royal protection officers, who were riding with him in the Meynell Hunt.
An x-ray revealed he had actually broken his acromion, a small bone on the edge of the shoulder blade.
A spokesman said: “He’s fine. It was a minor injury and it's just inconvenient, that's all. He's not in any pain.”
Charles wore a sling for a number of days until the fracture healed.
KNEE SURGERY
Charles had keyhole laser surgery in 1998 in order to repair damaged cartilage in his right knee.
He had his left knee operated on a number of years earlier, thought to have been caused by years of trekking, skiing and playing polo.
Charles had to use a stick when walking but two days later, going against the advice of his doctors, he ditched it and carried out a full day of royal engagements.
SCRATCHED CORNEA
7
His sight was temporarily affected in November 2001 after he had been sawing a branch off a tree at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire, and had got sawdust in his eye.
The dust though scratched his cornea, affecting his vision.
A local doctor provided some treatment and he was then transferred to a specialist and told to take a day’s rest.
He wore a patch over his eye at a meeting of business leaders, with a spokesman saying his eye was “still sore”.
While tending to his gardens he once accidentally hit his thumb with a mallet and broke his finger, almost severing the tip.
CRACKED RIB
Charles was taking part in the Wynnstay Hunt in Wales in January 1998 when he fell from his horse and broke a rib.
Despite the injury though, he still went on a trek in the Himalayas just a few weeks later, as part of an official visit to Nepal and Bhutan.
ANOTHER FALL FROM A HORSE
Charles fell from another horse in August 2001 during a goalmouth skirmish in a charity polo match at Cirencester Park in Gloucestershire.
He was knocked unconscious and was in danger of swallowing his tongue until a paramedic rushed to his side.
Charles was stretchered off the pitch, as concerned onlookers including supermodel Claudia Schiffer, watched.
Initially, he was taken to Cirencester Memorial Hospital and then transferred to Cheltenham General.
Despite the potential seriousness of the fall, he only suffered some bruising and didn’t break a single bone.
In 1980 he was thrown and kicked by his pony during a polo match at Windsor and needed six stitches.
A two-inch crescent scar on his left cheek bore witness to the incident.
DAMAGED LARYNX
Charles suffered another injury while playing in a polo match in 1981.
The ball struck him in the throat during the game, leaving him winded and holding his larynx.
While Charles lost his voice for ten days he suffered no long-term damage.
HERNIA
In March 2003, Charles had an operation at the private King Edward VII's Hospital in London, on a hernia which was said to have been caused by a gardening injury from working in the grounds at Highgrove.
He joked "hernia today, gone tomorrow"; to waiting media after being discharged the next day.
The condition left Charles in considerable pain with the subsequent operation meaning he had to cancel his annual skiing holiday in Klosters, Switzerland.
APPENDIX
Charles has said that as a child he was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital to stop his appendix "exploding".
READ MORE SUN STORIES
He declared on a later visit: "I got here just in time before the thing exploded and was happily operated on and looked after by the nurses."
Charles's appendix procedure took place in February 1962 when he was 13 and studying at Cheam School, near Newbury, Berkshire.
7
Topics