diff --git a/qemu-timer.c b/qemu-timer.c
index 9be1a4131d..00a5d35c3f 100644
--- a/qemu-timer.c
+++ b/qemu-timer.c
@@ -126,6 +126,9 @@ static void qemu_clock_init(QEMUClockType type)
 {
     QEMUClock *clock = qemu_clock_ptr(type);
 
+    /* Assert that the clock of type TYPE has not been initialized yet. */
+    assert(main_loop_tlg.tl[type] == NULL);
+
     clock->type = type;
     clock->enabled = true;
     clock->last = INT64_MIN;
diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index 73e06610b0..709d8cda8d 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -3024,7 +3024,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
 
     runstate_init();
 
-    init_clocks();
     rtc_clock = QEMU_CLOCK_HOST;
 
     qemu_init_auxval(envp);