
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
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.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
4 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Harry and Meghan Markle 'leaving Palace fearing next move' after Netflix blow
Royal author Richard Fitzwilliams has claimed the Sussexes could release a new bombshell memoir to boost their financial situation (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images) The Royal Family should be "concerned" over a potential new project of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, an expert has claimed. With their lucrative Netflix deal reportedly coming to an end in September, many have speculated what the Sussexes will turn to next to subsidise their finances. While both Harry and Meghan have a host of other projects that generate a hefty revenue, such as Meghan's lifestyle brand As Ever, they have hefty bills to pay for the likes of their Montecito mansion and full-time security. Now, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams believes the Firm could be starting to fear that another explosive memoir could be on the way from Harry. A royal expert has claimed that Harry and Meghan could release a new memoir after their Netflix deal was cut (Image: Getty Images) In addition he says the royal family could also be concerned about Meghan releasing her own tell-all autobiography, given her critical views on her short time as a working royal. Mr Fitzwilliams told the Express: 'What would sell is another memoir. Harry told us when Spare was released that he cut 400 pages as they would be toxic for the Royal Family. The royals will be concerned that the Sussexes could publish another memoir and this time it could be Meghan, or Harry could write a memoir about his early life.' He continued: 'When you have unhappy exiles you either have reconciliation or you have trouble. I can't see Meghan and Harry wanting to change their lifestyle. This devastating blow from Netflix raises the question of how they fund it without dishing more dirt.' When asked about the Firm's potential concerns over Harry and Meghan's possible project, Fitzwilliams said: 'If you behave as outrageously as the Sussexes have, you are not trusted. 'Unless the Royal Family knows something we don't, they will be very worried. The Royal Family have not forgotten the devastating interview on Oprah and must be hoping they (Harry and Meghan) find a source of revenue very quickly.' The comments from Mr Fitzwilliam come after another royal expert claimed that Prince Harry could have an ulterior motive in pursuing the alleged royal reconciliation with King Charles, and could instead be asking for a 'handout'. Richard Fitzwilliams believes the royal family is "concerned" about what projects the Sussexes do next to make money (Image: zz/NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx) Speaking to The Sun's Royal Exclusive show , royal author Robert Jobson suggested that Harry and Meghan could be seeking financial help from the King, hence the initiation of peace talks between the Sussex camp and the royal family. Jobson said: 'Well, the deal was always set at about $100 million, wasn't it? And the talk of that figure sort of blew a lot of people's minds, but I think that was for productions and things that they're supposed to have done. 'Where does it leave them? Probably with a bit of a bowl out, looking for some handouts. Maybe that's why they were over with their staff, were over here having discussions with the King. I don't know. 'The reality is in the past they got support from the King and the late Queen, and they said they were going to go and make their way. They've lost Spotify, they've lost Netflix. They can't rely on the spare money forever, can they?' Earlier this month, it was reported that Netflix has decided not to renew the contract it holds with the Sussexes once it runs out in a few months time. The Sussexes are believed to have signed a five-year deal worth around $100million in September 2020. WHATSAPP GROUP: Be first to get the biggest royal bombshells and exclusives to your phone by joining our Royal WhatsApp here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. NEWSLETTER: Or sign up to the Mirror's Royal newsletter here to get all the biggest royal news and exclusive pictures, straight to your inbox.


Daily Mail
4 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Loose Women sex tape panic as Coleen Nolan and Nadia Sawalha targeted by scammers who threaten to leak clips of them 'enjoying some alone time'
Loose Women panellists Coleen Nolan and Nadia Sawalha have opened up about being targeted by scammers who threatened to leak intimate videos of them 'enjoying some alone time.' Speaking on the ITV panel show, the pair candidly revealed the terrifying ordeals they had been subjected to by fraudsters trying to extort money from them. The topic of sex extortion has been circulating in recent weeks, as evidence emerges that sex scammers drive teenagers to take their own lives out of fear of what would happen if their intimate photos were leaked. Actress and TV personality Nadia Sawalha shared that she received a 'sextortion' email just days earlier, beginning crudely: 'Hello pervert.' The 60-year-old said: 'The email read "We have all the videos of you having a happy time - giving yourself some alone time." 'And I thought, "I don't think I have any videos of that." But then I felt fear again because, with deep fakes, could there be?' 'Deep fakes' are videos of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered so they appear to be someone else. For example, someone's face could be digitally applied to the body of someone else performing a sex act - although the innocent party had no involvement at all. 'I felt anxious,' Nadia continued. 'I'm a 60-year-old woman who's listened to countless podcasts about this. 'I know the information, I've read stuff about it, I've read terrifying stories about children killing themselves.' She added: 'Because I had all that information, by the time I got to the end of the email, I simply deleted the email because I knew that this was a phishing expedition.' In the modern dating era, the panellists said, it is not uncommon for youngsters to share sexual photos or videos with their partners - meaning they are much more susceptible to such scams. Singer Coleen Nolan, also 60, revealed she had 'the exact same' experience around 18 months ago. Coleen explained how panic set in when she realised someone could have hacked her phone. 'Reading down, it said, "We've got all your videos and what you've done." I was just like, "Please can you send them to me, I'd be interested in seeing them as I've never made one in my life." 'But it was horrendous,' she added, while Nadia said: 'You do feel panicked, don't you?' Coleen continued: 'I knew I hadn't made the videos but had they hacked into my phone? Were they going to lie on that? 'They said they were going to send it to my family and my work and kids. I did click in and then I deleted it.' The discussion follows a powerful Channel 4 documentary titled Hunting My Sextortion Scammer, which sees Rizzle Kicks musician Jordan Stephens fly thousands of miles to confront a fraudster. The 33-year-old, who is one half of the pop duo alongside Harley Alexander-Sule, also 33, 'gets himself sextorted' to expose the tactics criminals use to sexually blackmail young British men and boys. He tracks down his blackmailer and attempts to confront them. In an exclusive clip obtained by MailOnline, the music star tries to keep his cool as he has a calm conversation with his scammer on the phone via Instagram. Jordan tells viewers: 'It sounds like my sextorter is getting more and more wound up,' as the camera zooms in on their conversation on the social media app. The scammer messages him: 'Show me your account now,' to which Jordan replies: 'No, I've already paid.' The sextorter tells Jordan: 'No, is not working bro' alongside three angry face emojis. Moments later the singer gets a call and answers with: 'Hello.' The scammer replies: 'Let tell you something now. I swear down with my life if you don't even try to understand me, I swear down, I'll destroy your life. 'It's better you get me $200 now.' Jordan replies: 'I gave it to you! I gave it to you!' He then tells viewers: 'I need my sextorter to believe he'll get his money if he clicks on that share location link on our fake gift card site.' The scammer says: 'I don't know how to redeem it. Do you want me to destroy your life?' Jordan tells him in a panic: 'I don't have any more money. You put the code in.' 'It's not working, I swear down,' the fraudster says. 'I've done it several times. It's not working. 'You should redeem the card at your place and then send me $200 back. Then I free you!'


BBC News
4 minutes ago
- BBC News
Manchester Art Gallery scheme encourages children to be noisy
Parents in Manchester are being encouraged to bring their children to the city's art gallery - where they will be encouraged to be as loud as they Kids Aloud scheme, run by the UK charity Art Fund, welcomes children to traditionally quiet spaces without parental fears about them making too much Art Gallery, where the event is now in its second year, is holding specific drop-in slots which can booked in advance."We really believe museum and galleries are for everyone, right from birth all the way up. We really want these spaces to be welcoming to families," said Gracie Divall, from Art Fund. Art Fund is running the initiative at more than 20 museums and galleries across the follows research by the charity which found more than 50% of parents questioned were concerned about taking young children into these kind of Seabright, who brought his granddaughter along to the launch event at Manchester Art Gallery, described the idea as "fantastic"."The gloves are off - they can make as much noise as they like, and it gets them used to coming into an environment like this," he initiative is aimed at making parents of children of all ages feel more comfortable visiting galleries, combatting the misconception that children being noisy and expressing themselves in museum spaces is frowned can purchase a National Art Pass to access free entry to more than 900 museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK, as well as enjoying 50% off major exhibitions, alongside discounts in museum shops and cafes. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.