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At the moment his bloody head was raised to public view after his execution, Charles I became, to his supporters, King Charles the Martyr. There was an immediate clamour for holy relics. Some objects, such as his gloves and insignia had been handed to friends on the scaffold, but many in the crowd just wanted a sample of the blood to treasure and revere.

Defeated as he was politically and militarily, the king sensed that martyrdom was the monarchy’s best long-term hope of survival. Shortly before he died, he declared he would be exchanging a “corruptible for an incorruptible crown”.