At 300 pounds and nine feet in diameter, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's cake was one of the widest in royal history. Its upper tier, topped with an ice sculpture, stood two feet high. Mummified pieces of the cake went on display at Windsor Castle in 2007. "It is extraordinary that it has survived," Windsor's librarian said.
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Prince Edward's cake was a five-foot replica of St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle—where he married Princess Alexandra. It was so intricate that it included arches and porticos, and was decorated with orange blossoms. A statue at the very top depicted Cupid supporting the crown of the groom, who would later become King Edward VII.
The future queen mother's 800-pound cake was the heaviest in royal wedding history. She ordered the four-tiered dessert from McVitie & Price, a famous British baker, for her wedding to Prince Albert (later King George VI). It was finished off with floral garlands and satin bows.
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For her wedding, the future Queen Elizabeth II ordered a cake decorated with figurines of her favorite activities. Though designers at McVitie & Price spent more than five weeks making the nine-foot fruitcake, guests ate only one tier on the actual day. The remainder was given to schoolchildren to supplement strict wartime rations.
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This couple exercised relative restraint. Only 150 pounds and five feet tall, their cake's three sections were supported by Gothic pillars made of sugar. The bride and groom's initials were piped on to the cake's surface, and surrounded by an array of exotic (albeit inedible) flowers.
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Queen Elizabeth's first cousin had a wedding cake covered in icing so delicious it became known as "royal icing," a baking staple. The ingredients were simple: egg whites, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar. The cake was topped with his-and-hers coats of arms.
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More royal icing—and sugar painted silver. This cake stood five-foot-six-inches high, and was not without a personal touch: It was decorated with a small plaque of Princess Anne (Queen Elizabeth's daughter) on horseback—in icing.
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There were 27 cakes at Charles and Diana's wedding, but the centerpiece was this six-foot-tall confection. It featured the Spencer family crest and the prince's coat of arms. In 2008, a shrinkwrapped slice went up for auction--and sold for $1,830.
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It was a royal first: Fergie's 240-pound fruitcake was laced with brandy and rum—and was big enough to serve 2,000 slices. And, preparing for the worst, the couple asked the Royal Navy catering school in Cornwall to prepare an exact replica of the dessert, in case anything happened to the original.
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This chocolate cake came with more than 500 handmade gold and sugar-coated flowers and fruits, including strawberries, pineapples, and grapes. Designer Linda Fripp added sugar ivy leaves on each layer to reflect the decadence of Windsor Castle's Waterloo Chamber.
Linda Fripp Designs
