 The royal touch ( also known as the king 's touch ) was a form of laying on of hands , whereby French and English monarchs would touch their subjects , regardless of social classes , with the intent to cure them of various diseases and conditions . The thaumaturgic touch was most commonly applied to people suffering from tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis ( better known as scrofula or the King 's Evil ) , and exclusively to them from 16th century onwards . The disease rarely resulted in death and often went into remission on its own , giving the impression that the monarch 's touch cured it . The claimed power was most notably exercised by monarchs who sought to demonstrate the legitimacy of their reign and of their newly founded dynasties . 
