Castles, Customs, and Kings by Debra Brown

To provide historical context, it is useful to note that when Napoleon’s army retreated from Russia in 1812, as typhus ravaged his soldiers, news of the successes of homeopathy in treating this epidemic spread throughout Europe.

There is some evidence and some significant controversy about Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s (1769–1821) interest in homeopathy. Quin was even called to become personal physician to Napoleon Bonaparte, though the day before Quin was to attend him, Napoleon died. Royalty from other countries soon also began to seek out homeopathic physicians and even became advocates of this new, safer system of medicine.Įven before Quin became a homeopath, he was a highly respected physician to various royalty.

Prince Leopold, who later became King Leopold I, sought the homeopathic care of Dr. It should also be noted that the Belgian royalty were also advocates of homeopathy. Thus, when Queen Victoria (1819–1906) married a German, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), the German royals’ interest in homeopathy began to develop even more popularity among British royalty, though Queen Victoria herself was not a vocal supporter of homeopathy. The German kings sought homeopathic care from Dr. It has been theorized that the British royals (House of Windsor) learned about homeopathy from the German royals, who were all particularly strong advocates of this medical system that was originally founded by a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann, MD. The most obvious reason was that it was extremely effective for them, and, compared with conventional medicine of that day, it was considerably safer than the strong drugs, debilitating bleedings, and use of leeches. Because European royalty usually do not have a history of expressing advocacy without obvious and strong reasons, it is important to ask why so many European monarchs were so supportive of homeopathic medicine. Various monarchs throughout Europe were not simply patients of homeopaths they were also advocates for this system of medicine. What is posted below is the remainder of the same chapter of The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy by Dana Ullman (see below) concerning non-English royals. For information about the use of homeopathy by England's royals, see this post on English Historical Fiction Authors.

Castles, Customs, and Kings by Debra Brown