Know More About The Pro-Homeopathy Doctor Keeping King Charles And Royal Family Healthy

As the head of the royal medical household, Dr Michael Dixon is responsible for the health of the sovereign and the royal family. He manages a team of doctors at Buckingham Palace.

For the past year, Dr Michael Dixon has been serving as the head of the royal medical household which, the Sunday Times reports, is a role founded by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973. Until his appointment, the role was combined with that of being the monarch's physician, which has existed since the 1540s.

According to the report, the title holder is responsible for the health of the sovereign and the royal family. They will attend births and deaths, and manage a team of doctors at Buckingham Palace. They may also be called to represent the royal family during talks with the government, as was seen during the coronavirus pandemic. Interestingly, for their part-time service, they are paid a "modest fee" that covers expenses and travel.

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Who is Dr Michael Dixon?

According to a Guardian report, the 71-year-old -- who has a liking for bow-ties -- is a pro-homeopathy doctor, who has "championed faith healing and herbalism" in his work as a general physician (GP). He has apparently had a long association with the king, and has worked in the National Health Service (NHS) for almost half a century. Dr Dixon, who has an 'OBE' (Order of the British Empire) for services to primary care, has been an "outspoken advocate of complementary medicine".

Per the Sunday Times report, the doctor is also chairman of the College of Medicine, a visiting professor at UCL and the holder of honorary roles at the medical schools of Exeter and Birmingham universities. He is a "semi-retired GP" who works two days a week at a surgery in Cullompton, Devon. He has also reportedly written papers that state that Christian healers "may be able to help the chronically ill".

The report also stated that the palace had said the king's position on homeopathy had been "well documented". It cited a previous article in which he wrote that it is "not about rejecting conventional medicines in favour of other treatments: the term 'complementary' medicine means precisely what it says".

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Many critics have questioned and criticised Charles' decision to put Dr Dixon in charge of the royal medical household, deeming it "inappropriate". One of them has been Edzard Ernst, emeritus professor at the University of Exeter who, as quoted in the Guardian report, said: "Anyone who promotes homeopathy is undermining evidence-based medicine and rational thinking. The former weakens the NHS, the latter will cause harm to society. We, and others, have shown that homeopathy is not an effective therapy, which has today become the accepted consensus. To me, this means its only legitimate place is in the history books of medicine."

Ernst, however, added that "the king can appoint who he wants".

Buckingham Palace, while defending the doctor's appointment, added that he "does not believe homeopathy can cure cancer", and that his position is that "complementary therapies can sit alongside conventional treatments, provided they are safe, appropriate and evidence based."