 The frequency of the ritual reached its climax during the reign of Charles II ( r . 1660 – 1685 ) , the only English monarch who applied royal touch more than French kings . Over 92 @,@ 000 scrofulous people were touched by him – over 4 @,@ 500 annually . James II ( r . 1685 – 1688 ) was very skeptical about the ritual but nevertheless indulged in it . He was deposed by William III ( r . 1689 – 1702 ) and Mary II ( r . 1689 – 1694 ) , who refused to take part in what they considered a superstition . When a subject asked him for a touch , William reputedly said : " God grant you better health and better sense . " Anne ( r . 1702 – 1714 ) reintroduced the practice almost as soon as she ascended , touching 30 people on 6 October and 20 on 19 December 1702 . She took it very seriously , even fasting the day before . On 30 March 1712 , she performed the ritual for the last time ; Samuel Johnson ( 1709 – 1784 ) was the last of the 300 scrofulous people Anne touched that day . George I ( r . 1714 – 1727 ) permanently discontinued the practice , but the exiled James II 's Jacobite heirs claimed the ability until the 1780s . 
