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The ‘Eleven Years Tyranny’ began on 10 March 1629 as Charles I dissolved Parliament and began eleven years of personal rule. Charles was executed twenty years later on January 30, 1649 at the Palace of Whitehall. The gauntlet gloves that Charles wore at his execution were reputed to have been handed by the King to the Bishop of London, William Juxon. The Bishop had delivered the last rites to Charles upon the scaffold and had handed Charles his silk nightcap to cover his hair, before going on to record Charles’s speech given before the King laid his head upon the executioner’s block. Charles also gave Juxon his sash and cloak, which along with the gloves, have been stored as relics of remembrance since that day. The embroidered gloves were kept at Lambeth Palace.

And, as you might know, the unexpected history of gloves is all about, the Holy Roman Empire, gift giving, Japanese sports, poisoning, manliness, status and availability!

Listen to our podcast on the unexpected history of gloves here!