- Prince William and Kate Middleton will serve a tier of their wedding cake from 2011 at the christening of their third child, Prince Louis, on Monday.
- It's custom for members of the British royal family to save cake layers for their future children's christenings.
- Tiers of William and Middleton's wedding cake were served at both Prince George and Prince Charlotte's christenings in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
Guests at Prince Louis' christening can look forward to a special slice of seven-year-old cake, following royal tradition.
The service, which is taking place on Monday at St. James' Palace in London, UK, will be followed by a private reception where Prince William and Kate Middleton will serve a tier of their wedding cake from 2011.
Designed by Fiona Cairns, the famous eight-tiered cake was made from 17 individual fruit cakes, the traditional choice for British royal weddings, and decorated with 17 different types of iced flowers and leaves.
While couples in America often save the top of their wedding cake for their first anniversary, it's custom for members of the British royal family to save cake layers for their future children's christenings. Cairns previously told Town & Country that tiers of the cake she baked for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding were served at both Prince George and Prince Charlotte's christenings in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
According to Kylie Carlson, the director of the International Academy of Wedding & Event Planning, non-royals in the UK have also followed this tradition. Speaking to Today Food, Carlson said that standard British wedding cakes feature three tiers, each of which serves a different purpose. "The bottom is meant for eating at the ceremony, while the middle is to be served after the event," she explained. "The top tier is then preserved for the couple's first child's christening."
That said, the tradition's popularity may be dwindling among couples today, especially as they ditch custom for more modern weddings.
"It is British tradition to have all-fruitcake wedding cakes, but with time, there has been more creativity in the tradition and all sorts of cakes are seen," Sophie Hall, senior wedding planner at Quintessentially Weddings, told Today Food.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, for example, served a lemon elderflower cake at their May wedding.
According to the royal family's official website, Prince Louis' christening will feature a few other traditions. The young royal will wear a handmade replica of the royal christening robe, made by Angela Kelly, the dressmaker to the queen. And the Lily Font, which has been used in every royal christening since 1841, will be filled with water from the River Jordan and used to baptize Prince Louis.
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