Don't panic but have you noticed today's date? It's the
dreaded Friday the 13th (don't worry, by the time you've finished
reading this it'll be the 14th!).
While they could be deemed some of the luckiest people
in the world thanks to their immense riches, even some members of the
Royal Family have been known to sign up to the belief that superstition
and fate can play a major part in our lives.
For centuries, the concept of monarchy was based in some part on superstition.
Even the theory that the 13th is the unluckiest of days has a possible royal connection.
As is documented in the Da Vinci Code, many believe that
the date was deemed unlucky due to the simultaneous arrests in 1307 of
many of the Knights Templars by agents acting for King Philip IV.
Meanwhile, just 300 years ago it was believed by the populace at large
that the touch of a monarch's hand could cure a subject of scrofula.
Believed to be a form of tuberculosis, the disease which results in
glandular swellings was known as 'The King's Evil'.
This was just one of several superstitions which suggested that the touch of a royal could cure a range of maladies.
Constitutional expert Walter Bagehot, who famously
declared that daylight should not be let upon the magic of royalty,
conceded in the late 19th Century that the monarch and her family
continued to enjoy some unexplained powers, writing during the reign of
Victoria: "If you ask the immense majority of the Queen's subjects
by what right she rules, they would never tell you that she rules by
parliamentary right."
"They will say she rules by 'God's grace'. They
believe they have a mystic obligation to obey her."
Over a century later, Victoria's great-great-granddaughter continues to hold huge store by the power of God.
However, there are mixed reports as to whether Elizabeth II is superstitious.
