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Why was Samuel Johnson taken to London to be touched by Queen Anne?

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Painting of Samuel Johnson showing Johnson seated at a desk with a quill in hand and papers before him, wearing a brown coat and white wig. — Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson, oil on canvas by Sir Joshua Reynolds, c. 1756; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Samuel Johnson was taken to London to be touched by Queen Anne because he suffered from scrofula—a tuberculous swelling of the lymph glands—which was commonly known as the king’s evil.12

During this period, there was a widespread popular belief that the sovereign’s touch possessed the power to cure this condition. At the age of 30 months, Johnson was brought to the queen to undergo this traditional ceremony, and he kept the gold "touch piece" he received from her for the remainder of his life.12