Girl Guides make a 10,000 mile Royal Wedding Cake
This week is the 62nd Anniversary of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten; did you know that the Australian Girl Guides organized the biggest and best wedding cake for the event?
Princess Elizabeth had just become a teenager when she met the dashing 18-year old Philip at Dartmouth in 1939; over the next few years they grew closer and closer, until rumors of their engagement began to circulate as early as 1945, no doubt abetted by their obvious enthusiasm whenever they went dancing (‘People Will Say We’re In Love’, from the hit stage play ‘Oklahoma’, seemed to follow them everywhere they went). It took fretful years for all the complications to be resolved – Philip was, despite his noble background, from a Greek family and a different Church.
(Archive.org has the full text of the book “Her Majesty The Queen The Story Of Elizabeth II” by Helen Catheart online here if you want more details)
Princess Elizabeth had been a devoted member of the Girl Guides all her life, and, when the engagement was announced, there was much discussion among Guide groups around the world about how they could pitch in and help celebrate. Rationing was still a patriotic duty in many countries, and concerned groups rallied to the task of collecting scarce materials for the event.
The Australian Girl Guides decided they wanted to send Elizabeth a wedding present, and Irene Fairbairn, Secretary of the Girl Guides of Australia, had a suggestion – a Wedding Cake. ‘Would they like to do that?’ she asked, and the response is part of Australian guide lore – ‘Could they? WOULD THEY ! ! ! and THEY COULD ! ! !’
The most difficult ingredients to obtain would be butter and sugar, both of which were in such short supply (especially in England) that ration coupons were still in effect, allowing each person a few ounces of butter each week, and even less sugar. Many Australian Guides sacrificed their rations, went door-to-door for contributions, while newspapers got in the spirit. Pennies and shillings came trickling in.
There were many hurdles. Fairbairn had to get permission from Buckingham Palace to donate the cake, and arrange for a baker once the ingredients arrived. Arranging for transportation for the ingredients was also tricky, with few ships making the voyage and cargo space at a premium; Mrs. Fairbairn managed both. Next she needed a recipe, and the caterer for one of Australia’s biggest hotels came up with one suitable for such a royal occasion.
Cake Ingredients
56 lb. bag icing sugar
79 lb. castor sugar
50 lb. bag flour
6 tins powdered milk, 6 lb.
10 oz. ground cinnamon
10 oz. mixed spice
6 bottles essence lemon
1 tin almond meal, 28 lb.
60 lb. sultanas
10 lb. lemon peel
15 lb. seeded raisins
10 lb. crystallised cherries
12 lb. currants
7 lb. self raising flour
1 bottle Australian brandy
20 lb. brown sugar
10 lb. almond kernels
12 dozen eggs
30 lb. butter
Mrs. Fairbairn got all the permits in order on a Monday – a ship was leaving for England on Wednesday that week, with not further shipments scheduled – and so once again the Guides flew into action, boxing up the ingredients in a whirlwind of activity, breathlessly documented by the local press. This photo was printed in every Australian newspaper that week, of happy Guides taking the boxes to the ship:
Girl Guides loading Wedding Cake Ingredients
In England, Guides received the boxes, and delivered them to an Edinburgh baker, which baked the cake delivered it to the wedding banquet. It stood out among the collected ceremonial cakes – a 9 feet high, 500 pound fruitcake, decorated with intricate sugarwork, including both their armorial bearings and scenes from their lives.
There were 11 other cakes given to the 21-year old Princess and her 26-year old groom; the ‘Australian’ cake was considered the main wedding cake, and was cut using the Duke’s Mountbatten sword, a present from the King. One tier was eaten at the banquet, and one a year later, for the christening of Charles; a third was sent back to Australia, and presumably eaten by Guides there. The heroic Mrs. Fairbairn continue to have an outstanding career in the Guides, and later in life was given the prestigious awards of Order of the British Empire and Commander of the British Empire; although she did ruefully note that she never tasted a slice of the most famous cake in Australian history.