Royal fan buys a slice of Queen Elizabeth’s wedding cake to eat at his birthday

The 10,000-mile cake from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s wedding has been preserved since 1947, and one of its last slices was auctioned off to a royal fan named Garry Layton. Layton purchased the slice for 2,700£, and intends to eat it for his 65th birthday party next year. 

Layton will be celebrating his birthday on the Royal Yacht Brittania, and for the party he will have a portion of his newly purchased slice flambéed in rum to eat it “safely” at the party. 

The 10,000-mile cake

The royal cake from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s wedding is also called the 10,000-mile cake due to its ingredients coming from far corners of the world. After World War II, during the food rations period in the UK, the cake had to have many of its components imported: Butter from New Zealand, flour from Canada, brandy from South Africa, sugar from Barbados and more.

The slice Layton acquired has been passed down through the family of a Royal Navy officer who passed it down to his son, and then it was put on auction by the officer’s daughter in law. 

Layton, who now holds the cake in his possession, will be eating a portion of his slice on his birthday next year and has stated: “..If anything happens to me, then at least I will be going out in style on Britannia.”

Picture by Museums of History New South Wales via Unsplash