King Charles and his wife Queen Consort Camilla may have chosen a more low-key wedding in 2005 – since it was both of their second marriages – but they still had an incredible wedding cake.
The pair turned to Dawn Blunden and her sister-in-law Mary Robinson from Sophisticake in Lincolnshire for the confection, asking them to create a traditional fruit cake covered with a layer of marzipan and icing in just one month – a very short time frame considering they announced their engagement in February 2005 and tied the knot just two months later.
But with a more intimate guest list, which included the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, why has their wedding cake maker revealed she was commissioned to bake an additional 2,500 slices?
Dawn explained on her website: "Having secured the commission we were given just 4 weeks' notice to plan, bake and decorate not only the huge wedding cake itself but 2,500 slices of additional cake for special commemorative tins, all the while keeping the whole thing secret!"
Weighing a whopping 17 stone, the cake featured 1080 eggs, 36 bottles of alcohol and was decorated with delicate sugar roses, leeks, daffodils and thistles to depict England, Scotland and Wales – a process which took around 130 hours.
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Charles and Camilla later wrote a letter to Dawn to thank her for her services, describing the cake as "magnificent" and "delicious".
"The fact that you managed to produce 2,000 pieces of cake for distribution at very short notice – what with last minute changes of date! – was truly remarkable and a great credit to your powers of organization and adaptability," the letter read. The couple added: "I can't tell you how much my wife and I are enjoying eating pieces of wedding cake for tea each afternoon."
The couple met at a polo match in 1970, but Camilla went on to marry Andrew Parker Bowles after the King-to-be was called away on naval duties overseas, while Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in July 1981.
After their respective marriages broke down, Charles and Camilla went public with their romance in 1999 and got engaged six years later when Charles presented his future wife with an art deco-style ring that previously belonged to the Queen Mother.
They tied the knot in a civil ceremony followed by a religious blessing on 9 April 2005, one day after they had originally planned to exchange vows.
SEE: Shy Queen Consort Camilla, 4, clutches sister's hand in angelic bridesmaid photo
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