During the 1600s, it was thought that the touch of the British monarch had curative properties. It is said that Charles II touched a hundred thousand subjects during his reign (more than 8,000 in 1662 alone).
William III was rightfully more skeptical of his own role as a healer, and could be persuaded to touch only one sufferer during his reign, whom he advised "God give you better health and more sense."
Source: "Forgotten English", Jeffrey Kacirk, 1999
1 comment:
This went on before the 1600's too - the belief existed (perhaps not commonplace in practice) by the 1400's.
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