 The idea of the royal touch promoted the power of the monarchy , but the ceremony was seldom performed in the 16th century . During the French Wars of Religion ( 1562 – 1598 ) , the worsening conditions helped scrofula spread more than ever and the interest in the disease steadily increased . The Catholic League started a propaganda claiming that Henry III ( r . 1574 – 1589 ) was unable to heal by touch due to his immorality . After the assassination of Henry III and accession of the Protestant Henry IV ( r . 1589 – 1610 ) , the League warned that God would revoke his gift if the French accepted a Protestant as their sovereign and that the scrofulous would never be cured again . 
