In Macbeth, which English king is said to have the power to heal?

In Macbeth, the English king said to possess the power to heal is Edward the Confessor. Malcolm describes Edward’s miraculous royal touch while he and Macduff are at the English court in Act IV, Scene 3.

Malcolm says that Edward cures people suffering from severe, swollen, ulcerous illnesses by touching them and placing a gold medal around their necks with holy prayers. The passage refers to the medieval belief in the “royal touch,” a supposed healing power granted by God to certain monarchs.

Edward the Confessor ruled England from 1042 until 1066 and was later canonized. Historically, the royal touch became especially associated with curing scrofula, a form of tuberculous infection in the lymph nodes. Shakespeare uses the belief to contrast Edward’s saintly image and peaceful kingdom with Macbeth’s violent, diseased Scotland.

The reference also has a contemporary political dimension. Macbeth was written during the reign of James I, who had united the English and Scottish crowns. Malcolm’s praise of Edward presents legitimate kingship as benevolent and sacred, sharply opposing Macbeth’s usurpation and tyranny.