The Secret tradition: Why William and Kate chose this Cake for their 600 guests

As Prince William and Princess Kate look forward to celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary on April 29, 2026, the baker behind their legendary wedding cake, Fiona Cairns, shares a royal secret that not only made things special for her but also defined her career and how it all came together. She looks back at the historic 2011 commission, where her team built an eight-tiered masterpiece right inside Buckingham Palace.


The Phone Call
I still get excited when I think about the day I got a call to go to Clarence House. I sat down with the Princess of Wales and we had a cup of tea. We talked about the cake design. I remember that phone call well. A few days later I got the official job to make the cake. This is a moment I will always remember.


70 Kilos of tradition
The couple wanted a fruit cake just like the kind that Queen Victoria used to have. This cake was really big. It was made up of 17 cakes stacked on top of each other. The cake was three feet tall and it weighed about 70 kilos.


Stress at the Palace
I have to say, putting the cake together was a bit of a worry. The Queen was going to come and see how we were doing. Even though the whole world was watching it still felt like a family wedding. We knew we had to get it just right. We were working in a room above the palace kitchens.


A personal Royal Thank you
On the day of the wedding I was waiting to see if the couple liked the cake. I did not have to wait to find out. The Princess of Wales called me on my phone. She said thank you to me and my team for all our work. She said we were a part of the day.


The Ultimate Validation
For me and my husband, that phone call from the Princess of Wales was the part of the whole thing. It made us happy to know that the couple was happy with the cake. With all the guests and people watching on TV, the couple liked our cake. This made the whole experience really special for us.