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Wedding cakes in Queen Victoria's family were magnificent examples of edible ceremonies. Once at the age of photography, they were faithfully recorded for posterity. These images still have the power to enchant today, even in long-time albums. Just looking at these beautiful cakes almost allows us to taste them over the centuries. These were succulent creations. Rich in royal and clbadic allegory, these were delicate works of art crafted in ice and sugar, as well as awesome tributes to the power of display. Royal baptismal cakes are more unusual as they seem to have been rarely photographed in the past, in British royal terms. The baptism cakes within Queen Victoria's family do not appear to have been photographed at all.
Much later, baptismal cakes in memory of everyone included that of the Prince of Wales in 1948. A silver coat of arms was placed on the tiny cradle Royal Baptismal Cake, by the engraver and polisher Mr. Peter Milton. McVitie and Price prepared the rich cake of Prince Edward's christening in 1964, nicely surmounted by a cradle. McVitie and Price had, of course, created the wedding cake of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1947 for the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. They made the wedding cake of the Duke and Duchess of York – later George V and Queen Mary – in 1893, as they did for the Duke and Duchess of York. , the future George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
More recently, in 2018, Christening Cake of Prince Louis of Cambridge incorporated one of the top three levels of the eight Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. tiered wedding cake.
The Baptism of the Prince of Wales (detail) by Sir George Hayer (United States Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons)
We know the most about the Royal Baptism cake made for the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, in 1842. Spooner of the Strand did a satirical lithograph of the royal family gathered around the cake, but unfortunately there is no serious equivalent. From what we know, John Chichester Mawditt, royal confectioner of Buckingham Palace, created the wedding cake of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, also known as "Queen". s own cake & # 39; On January 25, 1842, the Prince of Wales was baptized in St George's Chapel; his brother, Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was baptized in Windsor two years later, in 1844, though this time in the private chapel. Prince Alfred, unlike the Prince of Wales, had the unique distinction among the Queen's children of both being born and baptized at Windsor Castle.
In her diary, Queen Victoria mentioned the special beauty of this baptismal cake. The cake was decorated with rose, thistle and clover borders, as could be expected for the respective national emblems of England, Scotland and Ireland. There were portraits of medallions & # 39; in silver & # 39; of the Queen and Prince Albert, topped with the Royal Arms of England and Prince of Wales Feathers "topped with Weapons of Wales" topped with a scroll & # 39; in dead sugar & # 39; . It was a miracle of fine detail with figures on the pedestals of Ceres, Fortune, Plenty, Clio – the muse of history – and St David for Wales (Annie Gray, The Greedy Queen, 101 ).
A proud Britannia held the baby Prince of Wales, as she stood at the top of the royal wedding cake blessing the union of her illustrious parents less than two years earlier. A miniature cast was in the center, surrounded by ' several small vases, with flowers' . (cit., Ibid, 102). For dinner, according to literary and cultural magazine The Mirror of Literature, Amusement and Instruction, there were also "19459007" several pieces of extremely prepared confections, modeled under the direction of Mr. Mawditt … which were all decorated with a profusion of flowers & # 39; ( The Mirror of Literature, Amusement & Instruction, Vol 1, 1842, 91).
Other glimpses of baptismal cakes are ephemeral. Judging by the adjectives of the queen, it was probably the splendid architecture of sugar on the table. Queen Victoria notes that the baptism cake prepared for Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, christened at Buckingham Palace in 1874, was bulky when it was presented at the baptismal breakfast. It is touching to see that the baby Prince was sleeping in his cradle before the beginning of his baptism, covered with a quilt knitted for him by Queen Victoria.
The only other specific mention of a baptism cake in the Queen's diaries is that made for the first child of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and his wife, Princess Louise Margaret. This little girl would be Princess Margaret of Connaught, future Crown Princess of Sweden. She was baptized in the private chapel of Windsor Castle on March 11, 1882; the queen admired this cake after her entry in her diary, which had been prepared for the family lunch.
Since Queen Victoria's children were all baptized between 1841 – beginning with the Royal Princess – and 1857, and ending with Princess Beatrice – one could have expected some of the Last cakes were photographed, at the earliest daguerreotype. But we do not have such images, surprisingly perhaps, not even for the last few years where the art of photography was much more advanced.
It seems only brief descriptions, these beautiful lost cakes.
© Elizabeth Jane Timms, 2019.
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