Royal Wedding Cakes: Confections Fit for Kings and Queens
March 10, 2011— -- The royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton is weeks away and at least one important decision has been made: who will make the cake. Chefs from the Welsh National Culinary Team have been commissioned to make the monumental confection.
Welsh team manager Graham Tinsley contacted the couple back in December, offering his services, and was accepted, according to eatoutmagazine.com.
While the final details of the decoration have yet to be finalized, Tinsley told eatoutmagazine.com that "it will be traditionally Welsh and there's a good chance that harps, dragons and the national flag will be represented."
While waiting for the culinary masterpiece, let's take a look back at some of the popular cakes of past royal marriages.
Then-Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Phillip married Nov. 20, 1947, at Westminster Abbey. The country was recovering from the war and the queen used ration cards to purchase the material for her wedding gown.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip's wedding cake was certainly fit for royalty. It was a 9-foot-high, four-tier wedding cake. It weighed about 500 pounds and was made of ingredients given to the royal couple by the Austrian Girl Guides.
The royal couple sent one layer back to Australia as a token of thanks. The cake was cut using the duke's Mountbatten sword, according to About.com.
One layer of the cake was kept until the Prince Charles was christened.
Royal Wedding Cakes
Diana Spencer married Charles, the Prince of Wales, July 29, 1981, at St. Paul's Cathedral. The wedding was celebrated throughout England as millions watched the ceremony on TV and thousands lined up outside the church trying to catch a glimpse of the royal couple.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles had 27 cakes at their wedding but there was one official cake. It was prepared by the chef David Avery from the Royal Naval Cookery School and stood more than 5 feet tall. The cake was decorated with royal icing and adorned with the Windsor royal coat of arms, the prince's coat of arms, an ornamental "C" and "D" and flowers including roses, lilies of the valley and orchids.
The second layer was saved and used as Prince William's christening cake.
Princess Anne married Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey Nov. 14, 1973. The ceremony was televised and watched by millions worldwide.
The massive cake was prepared by the Army Catering Corps, shown here.
Royal Wedding Cakes
The British royals aren't the only ones known for extravagant cakes. When Princess Victoria of Sweden married Daniel Westling June 19, 2010, she was honored with an 11-tier confection that was nearly 10 feet tall and about 550 pounds. It was a gift from the Swedish Association of Bakers & Confectioners to the couple.
Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly married April 19, 1956. The fairytale love story ended with an equally romantic ceremony and reception. Hundreds of guests attended the ceremony at St. Nicholas church and the press dubbed it "the wedding of the century," according to about.com. They sliced a six-tier wedding cake during the reception using Prince Rainier's sword.
