A DOCTOR has revealed why the Queen’s hands appeared purple this week.
The 95-year-old monarch has recently spent time in hospital and sprained her back, preventing her from attending events in person for more than a month.
She was back to her normal duties when she met with General Sir Nick Carter, the Chief of the Defence Staff, at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
Photographs from the meeting in The Oak Room, the Queen’s sitting room, showed Her Majesty’s hands were discoloured purple.
Dr Jay Verma of the Shakespeare Medical Centre told the Metro: “It might be Raynaud’s phenomenon or just really cold hands!”
Raynaud’s phenomenon is a problem that causes decreased blood flow to the fingers, usually occurring between 15 and 25 years of age.
In later life, it is usually secondary to other diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis or thyroid disorders.
Purple hands can be caused by “lack of circulation, frail skin, exposed veins, bruising, a leakage of blood to the tissue beneath the skin”, said Dr Giuseppe Aragona, GP and Online Doctor for Prescription Doctor.
He said: “It could be Cyanosis which occurs when there is not enough oxygen in the blood.
“Blood which has a normal amount of oxygen is a deep red and means your skin is its normal colour, however low oxygenated blood is bluer which causes your skin to have a purple hue.
“It is known that Cyanosis can develop quicker if the person has suffered a minor health problem, so this could be linked to her recent injury.”
Older people can also get “senile purpura”, which is when large, purplish bruises are more frequent on the skin due to it being more fragile.
However, the Queen’s hands do not look bruised, more purple all over.
Sir Gen Carter also had discoloured hands, which may suggest the room was simply cold.
Heaters have previously been pictured warming the huge rooms of Buckingham Palace while the Queen was holding an audience with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in 2018.
Her Majesty looked in otherwise good spirits at the event on Wednesday, having gone through a few weeks of concerning ill health.
Royal watchers are worried as she has now cancelled four public engagements in a month.
She was due to make her first official appearance on Remembrance Sunday to lead the nation in commemorating brave soldiers.
However, A Buckingham Palace statement on Sunday morning read: “The Queen, having sprained her back, has decided this morning with great regret that she will not be able to attend today’s Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph.”
Reassuring the public, Boris Johnson said that he saw the Queen last week on Wednesday for an audience in Windsor and that “she is very well.”
Prince Charles also admitted on Wednesday his mother would be struggling at her old age but was doing well.
When asked how the Queen was getting on, Charles, speaking at the Royal Scientific Society in Amman, Jordan, replied: “She’s all right thank you very much.
“Once you get to 95, it’s not quite as easy as it used to be. It’s bad enough at 73.”
The Queen was recently advised to step back from official duties by medics after an overnight stay in hospital.
She had been due to visit Northern Ireland on a two day trip but, as The Celeb Report revealed, she cancelled it on the advice of her doctors and was kept in hospital for test.
She stayed overnight because it was getting too late to take her on a 26-mile trip home, sources have said.
It is understood the back sprain is recent and unrelated to her medics’ advice to rest.
Concerns were first raised when she started to use a walking stick on engagements at Westminster Abbey and the Welsh parliament in October.
But she is known for her robust constitution and ahead of her hospitalisation, was on her feet for more than an hour at a business summit at Windsor Castle.
