Royals are as royals do. And most of the times, they tend to do things that are way, way unusual for us normal folk. But hey, unusual we’re okay with. However, a tradition that is being followed for the christening of the newest British Royal, Prince Louis, might not be…er… digested well by many!
The christening of Prince Louis, third child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and youngest sibling to Prince George and Princess Charlotte, was held at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace yesterday.
FYI, a christening or baptism is a Catholic rite of passage, where a child is given a Christian name by the parents, as a sign of admission into a Christian church. In desi lingo, you can pretty much call it a naamkaran!
Members of the royal family, except the Queen, were in attendance, dressed in their church best!
Hello there, newly-weds Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the dapper Prince Harry and the stunning Meghan Markle!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlCax2JBCef/?tagged=meghanmarkle
All this while the baby of the moment, the adorable two-and-a-half-month-old Prince Louis was taking a royal nap!
Okay, I know I promised you something unusual, so here goes!
Apparently, there is a bizarre tradition that prompted the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to serve slices of their wedding cake at the christening. ICMYI, Will and Kate’s wedding was in 2011, which basically makes that cake is SEVEN YEARS OLD!
The official press release for the christening mentioned the same:
“Following the service, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will give a private tea at Clarence House. Guests will be served slices of christening cake, which is a tier taken from The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding cake.”
So what exactly is this tradition that allows old cake to be served like this?
As per the bizarre, and rather unhygienic British monarchy tradition, the top-most tier of the wedding cakes of royals would be preserved, to be served at the couple’s first anniversary or baptism of their child.
The cake is almost always a fruit cake, that is dressed in alcohol (brandy) which helps with the preservation process. The tradition also carries out to wedding guests taking a slice of the royal wedding cake and preserving it as memorabilia. These slices have, on occasion, even been auctioned for ludicrous sums of money!
Check out the cake from Will and Kate’s 2011 royal wedding.
Okay, it’s all beautiful and regal until you tell me I gotta eat it aged seven years! Because then, it’s just gross!
And this sentiment echoed amongst a lot of people, who simply made a face when they heard about 7-year-old cake being served, no matter however perfectly preserved it might have been!
Listen, l love cake. I do. But this, really?
Prince George was probably the luckiest!
It's a strange tradition we have. The top tier of the wedding cake is kept aside for any future christenings. Seven years is just when the parents were married – it would have tasted a bit fresher for the previous two.
— Robin Sones (@RMSones) July 9, 2018
Yes, yes. Yummy.
https://twitter.com/GeraldDJames/status/1016253313719955463
Cannot. Get. Over. It.
7 years? 🤢
— Ashish Prasad (@iAshishPrasad) July 9, 2018
Well, rest assured, it is safe, folks! A spot of brandy will do ya good!
It's a British custom. Fruit cake laced with enough brandy lasts until the end of the world.
And will taste just as good/bad as originally— Götz von Berlichingen #FBPE 🐟 #SardinesUK (@georgebernhard) July 9, 2018
Someone asked a very sly and sensible question!
Question. If it wasn’t the same cake… would people really be able to spot the lie? If I were them I’d chuck out the old stuff and get something fresh 😉 🍰
— Rachael Venables (@rachaelvenables) July 9, 2018
I’d totally do this too! I am royal, I can do anything!
And finally, THE tweet to sum up the whole debate….
It's amazing how one cake be so hated & loved….
— Belle (@bellestarr48) July 9, 2018
Well, everything’s fair in love, war and dessert!