A slice of cake from Prince William and Princess Catherine's wedding cake is up for sale. The 15-year-old piece of fruit cake, which measures three inches by two inches, is wrapped in paper and has been preserved in its commemorative tin inscribed 'William and Catherine, April 29, 2011'.
The morsel of cake was kept by Catherine's friend Juli Kavanagh, who also held onto other wedding day items and two sweet cards from the future queen. One of the cards, dated 2017, was penned by the Princess on behalf of her oldest son, Prince George, who was then just four years old. The card was a thank-you to Judi for a large T. rex toy that George loved, which 'stands guard outside my bedroom'. It reads: “Thank you so much for my very cool birthday present. I love the huge T-Rex and I keep it outside my bedroom to stand guard...with love, George x.”
The card was signed by the young Prince. The unique royal mementoes are going under the hammer at London-based Forum Auctions on May 28, as Rupert Powell, specialist at Forum Auctions, said: “Material relating to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton captures a defining moment in modern royal history — an event watched by millions around the world and already viewed with considerable nostalgia.
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"Ephemera and commemorative pieces connected to the 2011 Royal Wedding continue to attract strong interest from collectors, particularly where provenance, rarity, and condition combine to create a tangible link to such a significant national occasion.”
Designed by Fiona Cairns, the wedding cake for William and Catherine's wedding was a 3ft-tall, eight-tiered fruit cake, decorated with sugar paste flowers and weighing a whopping 220lbs.
According to People magazine, the garlands around the middle of the cake were chosen to match the details of the room where it was displayed: the Picture Gallery in Buckingham Palace.
Pastry chef Fiona Cairns told the publication that William and Catherine's wedding cake “broke with tradition” and that the task of making said cake was “very stressful.”
“The brief came from Kate, and she was very specific,” Cairns said. “The theme of the wedding was to be very classical, very imaginative and stylish.
“Where William and Kate’s cake broke with tradition was that she made it very clear she didn’t want a cake as tall as some of the previous royal wedding cakes.”
“There was a lot to work out,” Cairns added, also noting that she and her team were sworn to secrecy about the project. “When such a big thing happens, you want to share it with your friends and family, but we couldn’t,” she said. “We couldn’t tell our children!”
The cake lasted well beyond the 2011 wedding reception, with pieces of it even being served seven years later at the 2018 christening of Prince Louis.