The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

ROYAL TELLS
the 'royal touch', as it was called, lasted from the time of
Edward the Confessor right up to 1714, when Queen Anne
performed the last royal touch by an English monarch. 11
Although people no longer believe in the curative power
of the royal touch, there is something very primitive about
the desire to touch and be touched by royalty. That's why
so many people reach out to shake their hand. In these
situations, touch becomes a medium of assimilation - by
touching a member of the royal family people feel that
they are incorporating some of the royal magic into themselves
and connecting themselves to something that's
timeless.
The way people touch each other sometimes exposes
things about their relationship that they would rather keep
hidden. A dramatic case of this occurred in 1953. At the
time Princess Margaret was having a secret love affair with
Group Captain Peter Townsend, who had been equerry to
her father, the King. The secrecy was necessitated by the
fact that Margaret was only twenty-two, while Townsend
was thirty-eight. To complicate matters further, he was
divorced. The romance became public knowledge during
the coronation. Before the ceremony began, Princess
Margaret was waiting in Westminster Great Hall.
Townsend was standing nearby. She turned towards him
and absentmindedly brushed a piece of fluff from his
lapel. It was this tiny gesture - this tell of intimacy - that
revealed to the world that Princess Margaret was in love
with Peter Townsend.
One of the things that made Princess Margaret's gesture
so noticeable was the fact that she belonged to a family
that was not given to public displays of affection. Even to
this day, the royal family rarely touch other people, except
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