 The kings and queens regnant of England and the kings of France were the only Christian rulers who claimed the divine gift ( <unk> ) to cure by touching or stroking the diseased . This special aptitude was thought to be evidence of God 's high esteem of the two monarchies , though they never agreed upon whose predecessors the ability was first conferred . In England , Saint Edward the Confessor ( r . 1042 – 1066 ) was said to be the first monarch to possess the healing power of the royal touch . The French , who normally traced the origins of their monarchs ' divine gift back to Philip I ( r . 1059 – 1108 ) or even Robert II ( r . 987 – 1031 ) , denied that Saint Edward used the royal touch . They insisted that the first English monarch to claim the ability was Henry I ( r . 1100 – 1135 ) , and that his touching was a politically influenced imitation of the gift granted exclusively to French monarchs . 
