Source: Cobden Centre
by Tim Price
“King Charles VI of France died in 1422 after a long rule of more than 40 years. He may have been the first person in history to suffer from a condition known as ‘Glass Delusion’ – the idea that he was made of glass and would break at the slightest touch. He was so concerned by the prospect that he surrounded himself with pillows, and wore special clothes reinforced with iron on the inside. He refused to be touched, in case his body shattered. Princess Alexandra Amelie of Bavaria was a fellow sufferer. She believed that she had somehow swallowed a glass grand piano during her childhood and similarly took great pains to avoid shattering. Scientists today attribute the ‘Glass Delusion’ to the invention of clear glass …. ‘Glass Delusion’, of course, is no longer common – if it ever was. But we are still prone to outbreaks of irrational belief.” (08/21/25)