When Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) married Prince Philip in 1947, her incredibly detailed wedding dress might have stolen the show, but the couple's wedding cake was like something out of a vintage royal fairytale. The four-tiered fruit cake stood at a massive 2.7 metres (nearly nine feet) and weighed 500 pounds. Hundreds of boxed pieces were distributed to friends and contacts, but slices of the 77-year-old cake are, understandably, hard to come by these days—until a recent auction.
According to the Telegraph, a rare slice of Elizabeth and Philip's wedding cake sold at a recent Reeman Danise auction for £2,700 (about $3,670). It was an especially significant find, considering this is one of the last known pieces of the historic cake in existence—and the buyer intends to eat it.
“I will have a third of it cut off and flambéed in rum so that any bacteria will be killed off,” Gerry Layton, who won the auction, told the Telegraph. The 64-year-old man, who said he plans to hold a replica state banquet for his upcoming 65th birthday on the Royal Yacht Britannia, admitted that it's probably a risky idea.
"But if anything happens to me, then at least I will be going out in style on Britannia," he added.
Per the media outlet, the cake was gifted to Royal Navy officer Chief Petty Officer F Lownes, who left it to his son. The box was kept in a drawer for years, and was passed on to Lownes's daughter-in-law before ending up with Reeman Danise Auctioneers.
The late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh's wedding cake—baked by McVitie and Price—featured depictions of royal residences and the couple's favorites sports and activities, with each tier separated by columns.
Royal fan Layton also owns a piece of Princess Diana and Prince Charles's 1981 wedding cake, although no word on if he ate that one, too.
