Latest news with #GerryLayton
West Australian
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Piece of Queen Elizabeth's 78-year-old wedding cake sells at auction - and the buyer plans to eat it!
A slice of cake from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's 1947 wedding has sold in auction for $5,600 – and the buyer has told media outlets he plans to eat it. 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.' 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. '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. 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.
Perth Now
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
78-year-old royal wedding cake sold to fan with unusual plan
A slice of cake from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's 1947 wedding has sold in auction for $5,600 – and the buyer has told media outlets he plans to eat it. 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.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Piece of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's wedding cake from 1947 is sold after being hidden in drawer for decades - and it's new owner intends to eat it
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip 's nearly 80-year-old wedding cake has been sold for £27,000, and its new owner intends to take a bite. The 78-year-old slither of alcohol-laced fruit cake was one of 2,000 from the 1947 wedding, and has been languishing in a drawer ever since. The slice of history was given to Chief Petty Officer F. Lownes, who served in the Royal Navy, at the Buckingham Palace reception. Measuring at 4inch by 3inch, the piece of cake was never eaten and instead passed down to his son. And the slice, originally from the 9ft lavish cake, stayed in its original box with a silver embossed crown 'EP' cypher and date on the lid. Eventually, the fruit cake was given to Mr Lownes' daughter-in-law, alongside the original packaging addressed to the Royal Navy officer, stamped with the words 'On His Majesty's Service' in reference to father-of-the-bride, King George VI. Since, the cake was put up for auction and bought by a royal fan and entrepreneur Gerry Layton who beat off international interest in it. Remarkably, he intends to eat about a third of it at a replica state banquet he hopes to hold on the Royal Yacht Britannia to mark his 65th birthday next year. The 64-year-old, who also owns a piece of Charles & Diana's wedding cake, said he will have the cake flambeed in rum before he consumes it. 'This slice is extremely rare and is probably the last piece of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding cake in existence,' he said. 'It is in good condition having been wrapped and kept in its box for almost 80 years. 'I hope to hire Britannia and have a replica state banquet there at my cost 'I will have a third of it cut off and flambeed in rum so that any bacteria will be killed off. 'But if anything happens to me then at least I will be going out in style on Britannia.' The sliced was sold by Reeman Dansie Auctioneers of Colchester, Essex, for a hammer price of £2,000 but with fees added on the overall price was £2,900. James Grinter, specialist at Reeman Dansie, said: 'They are very rare items and don't come on the market very often. 'It was sold directly from the family of the person who received it in 1947.. I believe it is a tradition that certain Royal Navy personnel were sent a piece of wedding cake. 'Mr Lownes' kept hold of it and left it to his son. It had been sitting in a drawer for many years and the vendor, Mr Lownes' daughter-in-law, never thought it would be that valuable. She was delighted by the result.' The royal wedding cake was designed by the chief confectioner at McVitie and Price Ltd. As rationing from the war was still underway, the ingredients for the 500lb fruit cake had to be flown to the UK from South Africa and Australia, earning it the nickname 'the 10,000 mile cake'. It was cut by Prince Philip with his ceremonial sword and produced 2,000 slices for guests, with hundreds further sent with hand-written notes to various charities and organisations across the globe.
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Slice of late Queen's 77-year-old wedding cake sells for £2,700 ... and buyer's going to eat it
One of the last slices of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's wedding cake has sold for £2,700 after languishing in a drawer for decades. The piece of perfectly preserved fruit cake from the 1947 celebration was bought by a royal fan who intends to eat it. The 77-year-old slice of alcohol-laced cake was one of 2,000 from the wedding reception at Buckingham Palace. The lavish cake, designed by the chief confectioner at McVitie & Price, stood at a 9ft tall and consisted of four tiers. The 4in slice was given to Chief Petty Officer F Lownes, who served in the Royal Navy. He never ate the cake and it was left to his son, who kept it in a drawer. After he died, it went to his wife, Lownes' daughter-in-law. The slice has been kept in its original box with a silver embossed crown 'EP' cypher and date on the lid. Alongside it was the original paper packaging addressed to Lownes and stamped with the words 'On His Majesty's Service', in reference to the father of the bride, King George VI. The slice was bought by Gerry Layton, 64, a royal fan and entrepreneur, who competed against international interest to buy it. He intends to eat about a third of it at a replica state banquet he hopes to hold on the Royal Yacht Britannia to mark his 65th birthday next year. He said he would have the cake flambéed in rum before he eats it. Mr Layton, who also owns a piece of Charles and Diana's wedding cake, said: 'I will have a third of it cut off and flambéed in rum so that any bacteria will be killed off. 'But if anything happens to me, then at least I will be going out in style on Britannia.' The slice was sold by Reeman Dansie Auctioneers of Colchester, Essex, for a hammer price of £2,000, but with fees added on the overall price was £2,700.
