Thrifty Charles strikes again! King appears to wear heavy gloves he uses for gardening to church at Sandringham – as his quest to be a sustainable monarch continues

Charles was photographed wearing dirty gloves that hardly fit a king, prompting questions about why he doesn’t replace them with a better pair.

He wore them as he attended the Sunday Advent service at St Mary Magdalene’s Church on Sandringham with Queen Camilla.

The pair of gloves relates to one of his favorite pastimes – gardening – and raises the question of whether he is trying to be a sustainable monarch through his clothing choices.

However, on the other hand, the monarch is well known for his “sausage fingers”, which he humorously calls “sausage fingers”, which are more swollen than normal fingers.

This led some observers to wonder if he could simply find a pair of gloves that fit his larger-than-average hands.

After all, since he ascended the throne last September, he has attracted quite a bit of attention for his swollen fingers.

Indeed, his fingers were at one point the seventh most popular search on Google.

The king was often depicted with swollen hands and feet, especially after long flights or travel to hot countries.

He was also seen with painfully swollen hands and feet on the first day of his royal tour of India in 2019, when he took off his shoes to enter a Sikh temple in New Delhi.

Observers also noted the royal’s swollen hands as he sipped a pint at The Prince of Wales pub in Clapham Old Town in 2021.

While royal fans have expressed concern about the appearance of the king’s hands, he has not confirmed the cause of the swelling.

According to the doctor, swollen fingers can be associated with a number of health problems, or could be the result of fluid retention or simply old age.

Several conditions can be the cause, including swelling or arthritis. Other causes may include high blood pressure or a high-salt diet.

Edema is a condition in which the body begins to retain fluid in the limbs, causing them to swell. This can also happen in the fingers.

The monarch, who is known for his love of gardening and was once ridiculed by some for his now popular habit of talking to his plants, is believed to enjoy spending time in the garden.

He has a keen interest in sustainable growing methods and is known to enjoy caring for his own plants.

Among them is his well-kept herb garden, and as part of his role he has, of course, planted more than one tree or two during his career.

His options for further gardening expanded when he was granted planning permission in September to build a new greenhouse that will increase the growing capacity of his 18th-century Cotswolds estate (the country home of Charles and Queen Camilla) by a third.

Plans for a greenhouse at Highgrove House will allow more people to visit to learn about gardening.

As well as three cold chambers, it will also mean more young plants can be grown at the property near Tetbury in Gloucestershire.

The garden where the cold storage facilities are planned to be built has been used for greenhouses since 1800.

This will give the monarch the opportunity – when he has time in his busy schedule – to pull out his worn-out gardening gloves.

But as a fan of sustainability, King Charles has a penchant for wearing new clothes, going well beyond gloves and gardening gloves.

He is famous for once saying that he would rather keep a piece and repair it if necessary than constantly replace items.

In the words of His Majesty: “I am one of those people who, if possible, will repair shoes or any item of clothing rather than just throw them away.”

So the gloves aren’t the royal family’s most famous renovation (although they do appear to be his dirtiest).

One of his most famous recycled outfits is a gray three-piece suit he bought in 1984 from Anderson & Sheppard.

Among the high-profile events for which he wore this high-end outfit was the wedding of his son Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018.

In an interview with British Vogue then he talked about this outfit and why he decided to wear it again.

Charles said: “For this particular card, while I can wear it, I only wear it a few times a year, in the summer, so obviously you want to keep things like that going.

“But if I can’t fit into them, then I’ll just have to do something new. But I’m not sure how radically different they might be at my age.”

He later wore the suit at Royal Ascot in 2021, having previously been photographed wearing it at equestrian events in 1990, 2000 and 2006.

And earlier this year, the royal was dubbed a “sustainable king” on TikTok after wearing a 40-year-old coat at Sandringham on New Year’s Day.

Also from Anderson & Sheppard, the royal has been photographed wearing this item on numerous occasions since the 1908s.

TikTok videos from Jessica Wesley Arena went viral when she praised the “eco king” for recycling his coat.

In her clip, she said: “King Charles attended a New Year’s church service today and I just want to talk about his coat that he’s wearing.

“This coat he’s wearing, he’s been wearing it since like the 1980s. King Charles is a king, but he doesn’t wear new things all the time.

“He’s been wearing this coat for about 40 years. We love a sustainable king.”

Another example of Charles demonstrating his passion for re-wearing clothes for environmental reasons was during his coronation.

Although the same robes are traditionally used, they are usually redesigned by the new monarch with a new Coronation Sword Belt and a new Coronation Glove to be used during the ceremony.

But Charles, for reasons of sustainability and efficiency, decided to reuse the belt and glove worn by his grandfather, the last male monarch, George VI.

Caroline de Guiteau, Deputy Inspector of Royal Art at the Royal Collection Foundation: “It’s quite unusual in this day and age.”

She continued: “It was the King’s personal decision and reusing these items is consistent with the idea of ​​sustainability and efficiency.”

His passion for sustainable development was on display again this weekend when he spoke at the Cop28 eco-summit in Dubai, telling world leaders that “the Earth is not ours” and calling on countries to work together.

The monarch told delegates his grandchildren will have to “live with the consequences of what we have done or haven’t done” on climate change in 2050, but did not mention George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet by name.

Charles was the only foreign head of state invited to speak at a meeting of world leaders on climate change in honor of the work he has done on the environment for decades.

In his address, the King said: “I pray with all my heart that Cop28 will be another decisive turning point towards real transformative action at a time when scientists have been warning for so long that we are seeing alarming tipping points reached.

“Despite all the attention, there is 30 percent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now than there was then, and almost 40 percent more methane.

“Some important progress has been made, but I am very concerned that we are still so far off course, as the global stocktake report clearly demonstrates.

“Dangers are no longer distant risks. I have seen across the Commonwealth and beyond countless communities unable to withstand repeated shocks, whose lives and livelihoods are being destroyed by climate change.

“Of course, real action is needed to stop the rise in the number of the most vulnerable victims.