King Charles's health history: Latest surgery, broken ribs and sausage fingers

King Charles was admitted to The London Clinic in Marylebone earlier today, Buckingham Palace confirmed. The 75-year-old underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate – something which was revealed in a statement earlier this month.

Royal aides previously confirmed that the King’s condition was benign and that he would be having a corrective surgery.

All of the King’s upcoming engagements have now been postponed.

With the monarch now set to spend two days in hospital, Express.co.uk takes a look at the King’s health history.

In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry revealed that his father had long suffered with chronic neck and back pain. Harry – the King’s youngest son – wrote in Spare that he had battled “constant neck and back pain”.

Highlighting the monarch’s love of polo, Harry credited his old polo injuries to his father’s pain.

The King is also known to have slipped a disc in the early 1990s, which saw him miss Royal Ascot in 1991. Just two years later, the then-Prince Charles aggravated the injury when he fell off a horse at Windsor.

Doctors then advised the King to stop competing as this would likely worsen the injury, with Charles agreeing to only play for charity events.

The monarch now appears to have a trademark walk – walking with his hands interlinked behind his back – which is said to help ease the back pain.

For many years, the King’s fingers have drawed a lot of attention. His fingers have been deemed as ‘sausage fingers’ by many royal watchers.

According to an article by the Daily Mail, a doctor previously explained what the root cause behind the King’s fingers may be.

Speaking with a medical term, GP Chun Tang – a medical director at Pall Mall Medical in Manchester – 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. Sausage fingers are known as dactylitis.”

Dactylitis is commonly arises due to inflammation and be a result of arthritis, multiple bacterial infections and even TB. The King, himself, has even joked about his fingers and has even dubbed them ‘sausage fingers’ too.

However, the King has never officially revealed the actual cause.

The King had a non-cancerous growth removed from his face in 2008.

Following surgery in May that year, the King was seen with a plaster on the right side of his nose.

Although not discussing many details from the surgery, Clarence House said that the King had undergone a “minor surgical procedure”. They also stated that it was a “routine and minor matter”.

Both of the King’s parents – late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip – had to have minor growths removed from their faces.

In 1990, a then-Prince Charles broke his arm after falling from a horse at a match in Cirencester.

The then-41-year-old was aiming to cut-off an opponent when his pony swerved to the right as he leant over to take a backhand shot.

The now-King then lost balance and one of the animals kicked him in the arm after he fell to the ground.

Dismissing the injury as a “silly thing to do”, Charles then spent three nights in hospital. Speaking at the time, a spokesperson said that it was a “nasty break above the right elbow”.

Fast foward to January 2001, Charles’ horse took an “unexpected jump” and flung him to the ground. Following an x-ray, it was revealed that he had broken his acromion – a small bone on the edge of the shoulder blade. Charles then spent several days in a sling.

In 1998, the King needed keyhole surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his right knee.

The injury was a result of decades of playing polo, skiiing and trekking.

The operation left him walking with a stick but just two days later – against aide’s advice, he refused to use the stick and continue his working schedule.

In 2001, the now-King was spotted with a bandage over his left eye.

The injury was sustained after the royal sawed a branch off a tree at his home in the Highgrove estate.

During this, Charles had unfortunately managed to get sawdust in his eye.

The dust had scratched his cornea and had temporarily affected his vision. He was admitted to a specialist and was prescribed to a day’s rest.

The now-King was spotted riding a horse across the Welsh countryside in January 1998 when he fell and broke a rib.

Despite the increased discomfort, the now-75-year-old insisted on going trekking in the Himalayas a few weeks later.

In 2001, Charles was thrown from a horse during a charity match at Cirencester Park in Gloucestershire.

The incident was a head-first fall and knocked him unconscious. He was carried away on a stretcher and was taken to Cirencester Memorial Hospital.

Despite medical attention, the now-King didn’t break a single bone. William and Harry were also present at the match and carried on playing after their father’s injury.

In 1981, during a polo match, the now-King was injured by a polo ball that hit him directly in the throat.

The incident left him winded and clutching his larynx.

Although the incident left no permanent damage, the then-Prince Charles did lose his voice for 10 days.

In March 2003, Charles had an operation for a hernia.

The injury was a result of a gardening injury from working in the grounds at Highgrove.

The ccondition, which is caused by a loop in the bowel protruding through an abdominal muscle – left him in a considerable amount of pain.

The surgery also made Charles have to cancel his annual skiing trip to Switzerland.