78-year-old royal wedding cake sold to fan with unusual plan
Gerry Layton, 64, was the winning bidder in auction house Reeman Danise's sale of the rare regal artefact late last week.
The 78-year-old slice of alcohol-laced fruit cake was one of 2,000 from the late royals' Buckingham Palace wedding reception, with the auction house noting that it is one of the last pieces of the cake in existence.
'The slice is extremely rare and is probably the very last piece of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding cake in existence,' buyer Gerry Layton told newspaper The Telegraph about his purchase.
'It is in good condition having been wrapped and kept in its box for almost 80 years.' Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip had their wedding on November 20 1947. Credit: Supplied
Despite the age of the dessert, Layton says he still fully intends on tucking into the aged fruitcake on his 65th birthday next year — which he hopes to throw on the late queen's former yacht Britannia.
'I hope to have a replica state banquet there at my cost, where I will cut a third of (the slice) off and flambe in rum so that any bacteria will be killed off,' he said. Gerry Layton was the winning bidder in the auction for the cake. Credit: Supplied
'But if anything happens to me then at least I will be going out in style on Britannia.'
The lavish wedding cake stood at 9ft tall and consisted of four tiers. The four tier wedding cake weighed 225kg and its ingredients were flown in from around the globe. Credit: Supplied
Layton's slice is four inches by three inches and was originally gifted to Chief Petty Officer F. Lownes of the Royal Navy, who opted to pass down the slice in its original embossed packaging to his son.
This is not the first time Layton has made headlines for purchasing a slice of an old royal wedding cake at auction — the royalist also managed to acquire a slice of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's 40-year-old wedding cake in 2021.
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