Royal wedding cakes throughout history

As the first joint task of the newlyweds, cutting the wedding cake takes on a much more symbolic meaning. For a royal couple, however, this is amplified even further.

Royal cakes often have to be large enough to serve 2 000 pieces for the wedding guests as well as charitable organisations. For this reason, they’re often larger than life. Let’s take a look back at what the British monarchy feasted on for their big days.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert – 1840

As the first marriage of a reigning English Queen for 300 years, this wedding was one to take note of. In fact, their cake set a new standard for wedding cake design. The three-tier English plum cake weighed in at a whopping 300 pounds (136 kg) and was decorated with Roman-style sculptures of Britannia, busts of the couple and a model of the Queen’s favourite dog.

Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh (1948)

This 9-foot (2.7 metre), 500 (226 kg) pound fruitcake featured four tiers and produced 2 000 slices that went to the wedding guests as well as nearby charities and organisations. As the wedding took place shortly after WWII, rationing was still in place. As a result, many ingredients had to be flown in, earning this treat the nickname, “the 10 000 mile cake”.

The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer (1981)

Although the royal couple actually had 27 cakes at their reception, this 5ft (1.5 metre) tall, 255 pound (115kg) creation was the official one. The fruitcake featured five tiers and was decorated with the family coat of arms, the couple’s initials, and flowers.

Prince William and Catherine Middleton – 2011

Made by Fiona Cairns, Prince William and Kate Middleton enjoyed an 8-tiered, 3 foot (0.9 metre) traditional fruit cake decorated with cream and white icing in the Joseph Lambeth technique where rows and rows of intricate piped details and garlands are created. It took Carins and her 50-person team five weeks to construct the 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers that adorned each tier.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (2018)

Designed by Clare Ptak, the lemon-flavoured cake was soaked in an elderflower syrup made at The Queen’s residence in Sandringham from the estate’s own elderflower trees. The cake was covered with buttercream and decorated with 150 fresh flowers.