When Princess Anne married her first husband Captain Mark Phillips, the couple chose a towering wedding cake that was reportedly the same height as the bride.
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The Queen's daughter, 71, announced her engagement to Mark on 29 May 1973 after he proposed with a sapphire and diamond engagement ring designed by Garrard Jewellers, and they went on to get married just months later in November. Following an unconventional wedding breakfast, which included lobster, partridge and mint ice cream, guests were able to feast on their 5ft 6 royal wedding cake.
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Created by the Royal Army Catering Corps, the impressive confection featured five tiers of fruit cake, which were soaked in brandy for four weeks. The cake was decorated with intricate piping and monograms and reportedly weighed 145 pounds, so it comes as no surprise that silver trays helped support the weight of each tier.
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Anne and Mark's five-tiered wedding cake was the same height as the bride
According to the royal family's website, Audrey's catering team also created a five-tiered hexagonal cake for the couple, topped with a female jockey on a horse as a nod to both Anne and Mark's shared love of all things equestrian. While the Princess had won the individual title at the European Eventing Championship at the age of 21, Mark won the gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games as a member of the British three-day eventing team.
The bride, who was 23 at the time, looked beautiful in an embroidered Tudor-style silk wedding dress featuring a high collar and medieval sleeves, designed by seamstress Maureen Baker.
The couple got married in 1973
Anne wore her hair in an up-do, with her grandmother's diamond tiara and a veil. Her then-25-year-old husband, Lieutenant Phillips, wore the full scarlet and blue uniform of his regiment.
The Princess Royal went on to welcome son Peter Phillips in 1977 and daughter Zara Tindall in 1981 before the couple divorced in 1992.
Anne went on to marry naval officer Commander Timothy Laurence later that year, but since the Church of England did not permit remarrying, the couple eloped to Scotland for the ceremony.
It's not known what Anne's second wedding cake was like, but considering she had a low-key ceremony with only 30 guests in attendance, we imagine it was a much more modest size.
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