Royal Wedding Cake Auction: Will And Kate's Sweet Legacy

A slice of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding cake was auctioned off in 2017, six years after their wedding in 2011. The auction took place at London's Chiswick Auctions, with bidding starting at $1,300. The fruitcake, which was designed by Fiona Cairns, was expected to sell for five figures. The cake was one of the eight tiers from the royal couple's wedding and was presented in its original commemorative tin.

The cake was an eight-tiered, three-foot-tall, 220-pound fruitcake

The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton was a grand affair. The cake was an eight-tiered, three-foot-tall, 220-pound fruitcake. It was a traditional fruit cake with a modern twist—softer icing made with a sugar paste base instead of the usual royal icing. The cake was designed and crafted by Fiona Cairns, a renowned baker famous for her fruitcakes. It took five weeks to bake the cake and three days to assemble it.

The cake was a true masterpiece, featuring intricate handcrafted details. Each tier was adorned with different floral designs, incorporating 17 types of foliage and flowers, including roses, lily of the valley, Irish shamrock, English rose, Scottish thistle, and Welsh daffodil. The sugar paste flowers and leaves were crafted by hand, with over 900 individual pieces. The cake also featured the couple's monogram in beautiful detailing, with piping used to create three-dimensional scrollwork of swirls of roses, acorns, and ivy leaves.

The cake's design was inspired by the architecture and detailing of the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, where it was displayed. The Duchess of Cambridge requested that the cake reflect the garlands on the walls of the Picture Gallery, as well as the inclusion of flowers, leaves, hanging ribbons, and bows. The cake's colour palette was purely white, flawlessly executed by Cairns.

The cake served as the centrepiece of the royal wedding reception and was presented in its full three-foot-tall glory. It was a true show-stopper and one of the most incredible cake designs to date. It took 12 cake makers over six weeks to create this magnificent confection, costing £57,000.

It was designed by Fiona Cairns, taking five weeks to make and three days to assemble

The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton was designed by Fiona Cairns, a renowned cake designer famous for her fruitcakes. Cairns and her team were approached just a few months before the wedding, and she had her work cut out for her. The cake took five weeks to make and three days to assemble, resulting in a magnificent three-foot-tall, eight-tiered fruitcake weighing 220 pounds.

Cairns' creative process began with a specific request from Kate Middleton herself. The Duchess of Cambridge wanted the cake to reflect the "language of flowers" and the architectural details of the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, where the cake would be displayed. This included the incorporation of 17 different types of foliage, each holding a unique symbolic meaning.

The cake was a traditional fruitcake with a twist. While fruitcakes are typically covered in marzipan and royal icing, the Duchess requested a softer icing. Cairns expertly crafted a sugar paste base for the icing, creating a smooth and elegant finish. The cake was then adorned with 900 handcrafted sugar-paste flowers, including roses and apple blossoms, as well as intricate details like hanging ribbons and bows.

The result was a stunning pure white confection that perfectly complemented the architectural beauty of the Picture Gallery. The cake served as the centrepiece of the royal reception, a true masterpiece that took the cake designer and her team a total of five weeks to create and three days to assemble on-site.

The cake's assembly was a meticulous process, ensuring each tier was securely stacked and the decorations were perfectly placed. The final product was a breathtaking sight, with each tier featuring different floral designs and the couple's monogram front and centre. The cake's impressive height and width created a stately display that wowed the guests.

The cake was inspired by the garlands on the walls of the Buckingham Palace picture gallery

The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton was inspired by the garlands on the walls of the Buckingham Palace picture gallery. The cake was designed by Fiona Cairns, a renowned baker known for her fruitcakes. It stood at three feet tall, with eight tiers, and weighed 220 pounds. The cake took five weeks to make and three days to assemble, with 12 cake makers contributing to its creation.

Fiona Cairns was approached just a few months before the royal wedding, which took place on 29 April 2011. The cake was a traditional fruit cake with a twist: it featured softer icing made with a sugar paste base instead of the usual royal icing. This was done at the request of Kate Middleton, who also wanted the cake to reflect the architecture and detailing of the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace.

The cake's décor included hanging ribbons and bows, as well as 900 exquisite sugar-paste flowers such as roses and apple blossoms. The sugar-paste flowers also included the national flowers of the four United Kingdom nations: the English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh daffodil, and Irish shamrock. The piping on the cake created three-dimensional scrollwork of swirls of roses, acorns, and ivy leaves, as requested by the bride.

The cake was presented in a specially commissioned cream and gilt commemorative tin, designed by Peter Windett and Sally Mangum. It was served to the 650 close friends and family who attended the afternoon reception at Buckingham Palace, with some guests taking a slice of cake home in the commemorative tin as a souvenir.

Since the wedding, slices of the cake have been auctioned off to the public, with one slice selling for $7,500 at Julien's Auction House in Los Angeles in 2014.

The auction price of a slice of the cake in 2014 was $7,500

The auction price of a slice of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding cake in 2014 was $7,500. This was a record price for a piece of their wedding cake at auction. The slice was sold at Julien's Auction House in Los Angeles in December 2014.

The cake was an eight-tier fruitcake, designed by Fiona Cairns, who is famous for her fruitcakes. It stood three feet tall and weighed 220 pounds. The cake was covered in cream icing and adorned with 900 sugar-paste flowers, including roses and apple blossom. It took five weeks to make and three days to assemble.

Slices of the cake were given to guests at the wedding as souvenirs. The slice sold at auction in 2014 was presented in its original white and gold commemorative tin, commissioned and designed by Peter Windett and Sally Mangum. The tin included a printed card from Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, with their best wishes for the royal couple.

The auction price of $7,500 in 2014 reflects the high demand for a piece of royal history. While the cake itself may depreciate over time, the value of the memory it represents remains high. This was demonstrated again in 2015 when a slice of the same cake sold for $1,375.

The cake was served in a commemorative tin with a personalised note from the Queen

The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was a grand affair. The original cake was a towering three-foot-tall, eight-tiered fruitcake, weighing 220 pounds. Designed by renowned baker Fiona Cairns, it featured handcrafted sugar flowers and leaves, including roses, English roses, Scottish thistles, and ivy leaves. The cake was a traditional fruitcake with a twist: a softer icing made from a sugar paste base.

Following the royal wedding, slices of the cake were presented as souvenirs to the 650 close friends and family who attended the afternoon reception at Buckingham Palace. These slices were served in commemorative tins, specially commissioned and designed by Peter Windett and Sally Mangum. The tins were cream and gold, or cream and gilt, and featured the wedding date, the couple's nuptials, and their royal cypher.

Each tin also included a personalised note from the Queen, which read: "With best wishes from TRH [Their Royal Highness] The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in celebration of the wedding of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge." This note added a truly royal touch to the already extraordinary souvenir.

Over the years, some of these slices of cake and their commemorative tins have appeared at auctions around the world. In 2014, a slice sold for $7,500 at Julien's Auction House in Los Angeles. In 2015, another piece of the cake was auctioned off for $600 to $800 at the same auction house. The cake slices from the royal wedding continue to be sought-after collectibles, with bidders eager to own a piece of this historic celebration.

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