<\/p>\n
The last piece of the Queen’s cake from her wedding to Prince Phillip in 1947. (HANSONS AUCTIONEERS via SWNS)<\/p>\n
One of the last pieces of Queen Elizabeth<\/a> and Prince Philip\u2019s wedding cake is to be auctioned after 78 years – giving Brits a chance to own a slice of royal history.<\/p>\n The crumbly piece of fruit cake was given to Cyril Dickman, who worked for the royal household as a servant for over five decades.<\/p>\n The alcohol-laced slice was one of 2,000 from the 1947 wedding reception at Buckingham Palace – but was never eaten by Mr Dixon during his lifetime.<\/p>\n He passed away in 2012 aged 85 and his slice of cake is now expected to fetch between $150-$200 at Hansons Auctioneers in Etwall, Derbys.<\/p>\n Owner Charles Hanson said: \u201cWhen I first saw the cake, I thought \u2018crumbs\u2019 what a find.<\/p>\n “We\u2019ve had pieces of wedding cake from other royal weddings come through out saleroom but never one from one of the most enduring royal marriages of all time.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “The cake seems to have survived the passage of time quite well, though it\u2019s not something I would want to dunk in a cup of tea.<\/p>\n “On its own, it\u2019s just a box of crumbs, but with its incredible story, it is nothing less than a slice of British history.”<\/p>\n (HANSONS AUCTIONEERS via SWNS)<\/p>\n By Talker<\/p>\n Their lavish cake, designed by the chief confectioner at McVitie & Price, stood at a 9ft tall and consisted of four tiers.<\/p>\n The ingredients for the 500lb fruit cake had to be flown to the UK from South Africa and Australia as rationing from the war was still underway.<\/p>\n This earned it the nickname “the 10,000 mile cake” and it was made with 80 oranges, 660 eggs, and more than three gallons of navy rum.<\/p>\n It was also decorated with royal crests, including the duke\u2019s regimental and naval badges.<\/p>\n The couple cut the cake using the Duke of Edinburgh\u2019s Mountbatten sword, which had been a wedding gift from his father-in-law, George VI.<\/p>\n The wedding of 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth to her 26-year-old beau, Philip Mountbatten was one of the most significant and symbolic royal events of the 20th century.<\/p>\n Around 200 million people worldwide tuned into their radios for the ceremony which took place at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947.<\/p>\n Winston Churchill called the wedding \u201ca flash of color on the hard road we have to travel.\u201d<\/p>\n The wedding breakfast, held at Buckingham Palace, was attended by 150 guests.<\/p>\n The menu included filet de sole Mountbatten, partridge, and as a dessert, bombe glac\u00e9e Princess Elizabeth even before the cake was served.<\/p>\n The cake, which comes in a modest looking box states Presented to Mr C. Dickman by Princess Elizabeth Nov 20th 1947, will be sold on October 16.<\/p>\n It was inherited around 40 years ago and has been with the same Buckinghamshire family ever since.<\/p>\n (HANSONS AUCTIONEERS via SWNS)<\/p>\n By Talker<\/p>\n Lambeth-born Cyril Dickman joined the palace in 1941 aged just 15 and was said to be a great favorite of the late queen<\/a>, as well as Princess Diana.<\/p>\n Reports suggest Cyril started life at the palace watching out for fires on the roof of Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n At the time of the royal wedding he would have been a 21-year-old \u2018below stairs\u2019 servant.<\/p>\n But he worked his way up to become the late queen\u2019s<\/a> Palace Steward, one of her most trusted helpers.<\/p>\n And when Merchant Ivory needed advice on how Anthony Hopkins should play the stiffly buttoned-up butler Mr Stevens in the 1993 film Remains of the Day, they called on the recently retired, Cyril.<\/p>\n Mr Hopkins later told The New York Times he couldn\u2019t have done the part without him, saying: \u201cCyril taught me simple rules: Be polite, be efficient, be relaxed.\u201d<\/p>\n He also gave the actor tips on how to iron the morning paper page by page and when to address his master as \u201cm\u2019lord\u201d (on entering the room) and \u201csir\u201d (thereafter).<\/p>\n \n Originally published on talker.news<\/a>, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last piece of the Queen’s cake from her wedding to Prince Phillip in 1947. 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