One of the final portions of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s wedding cake is set to go under the hammer after 78 years – offering the public an opportunity to purchase a morsel of Royal heritage.
The deteriorating segment of fruit cake was presented to Cyril Dickman, who served the Royal household as staff for more than five decades.
The booze-infused portion was among 2,000 from the 1947 wedding celebration at Buckingham Palace – but remained untouched by Mr Dixon throughout his life.
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He died in 2012 at 85 and his cake segment is now anticipated to raise between £150-£200 at Hansons Auctioneers in Etwall, Derbys.
Proprietor Charles Hanson remarked: “When I first saw the cake, I thought ‘crumbs’ what a find.
“We’ve had portions of wedding cake from other Royal nuptials pass through our saleroom but never one from one of the most enduring Royal marriages of all time.
“As an ardent royalist I was delighted to have in some small way shared a part of that very special day almost 80 years later.
“The cake seems to have survived the passage of time quite well, though it’s not something I would want to dunk in a cup of tea.
“On its own, it’s just a box of crumbs, but with its incredible story, it is nothing less than a slice of British history.”
Their extravagant confection, created by the head pastry chef at McVitie & Price, towered at 9ft and featured four layers.
The components for the 500lb fruit cake required air transport to the UK from South Africa and Australia as wartime rationing remained in effect. This earned it the moniker “the 10,000 mile cake” and it was crafted using 80 oranges, 660 eggs, and over three gallons of navy rum.
It was also adorned with Royal emblems, including the duke’s regimental and naval insignia.
The pair sliced the cake using the Duke of Edinburgh’s Mountbatten sword, which had been a wedding present from his father-in-law, George VI.
The nuptials of 21 year old Princess Elizabeth to her 26 year old beloved, Philip Mountbatten was amongst the most important and symbolic Royal occasions of the 20th century.
Approximately 200 million people across the globe listened on their wireless sets for the ceremony which occurred at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947.
Winston Churchill described the wedding as “a flash of colour on the hard road we have to travel.”
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The wedding breakfast, hosted at Buckingham Palace, welcomed 150 guests.
The bill of fare featured filet de sole Mountbatten, partridge, and as pudding, bombe glacée Princess Elizabeth even before the cake was presented.
The cake, which arrives in an unassuming container marked Presented to Mr C. Dickman by Princess Elizabeth Nov 20th 1947, will go under the hammer on October 16.
It was passed down approximately 40 years ago and has remained with the same Buckinghamshire household ever since.
Lambeth-born Cyril Dickman entered the palace in 1941 aged merely 15 and was reportedly a great favourite of the late queen, as well as Princess Diana.
Accounts indicate Cyril began his palace career keeping watch for blazes on the roof of Buckingham Palace. At the time of the Royal wedding, he was a 21 year old servant working ‘below stairs’.
However, he climbed the ranks to become the late queen’s Palace Steward, one of her most trusted aides.
When Merchant Ivory needed guidance on how Anthony Hopkins should portray the rigidly formal butler Mr Stevens in the 1993 film Remains of the Day, they sought advice from the recently retired Cyril.
Mr Hopkins later told The New York Times that he couldn’t have played the part without him, stating: “Cyril taught me simple rules: Be polite, be efficient, be relaxed.”
He also provided the actor with tips on how to iron the morning paper page by page and when to address his master as “m’lord” (upon entering the room) and “sir” (thereafter).