Five minutes with … DAVID AVERY
THE NAVY BAKER SHARES SECRETS FROM CHARLES AND DIANA’S WEDDING
July 29 marks 40 years since a young Lady Diana Spencer made her way down the aisle of St Paul’s Cathedral in London to wed Prince Charles. To celebrate, BritBox is airing a special documentary, The Wedding of the Century, which includes rare anecdotes from those who worked behind the scenes to ensure the day was a success.
Navy baker David Avery worked tirelessly for 14 weeks to make the couple’s five-tier wedding cake, which stood at over 150cm and weighed more than 90kg. He met with the soon-to-be princess to discuss the design. “Diana was absolute magic,” Avery tells WHO. “I’ll never forget her and the way she tipped her head to the side or her shy smile. I was so nervous but she instantly put me at ease,” he recalls.
Having met Diana, are you surprised her wedding and life still fascinate us more than two decades after her death?
She’ll never be forgotten. At the time, I thought I was making the cake for the future king and queen but it didn’t turn out that way. And she helped design the cake? I met with Diana several weeks before the wedding to go over
the design. I had a plan drawn up and she approved it all. She was very easy to work with.
Where did the recipe come from?
From my mother’s cookbook that she left me when she passed away. She died before Charles and Diana’s wedding day, which was the only negative as she would have been so proud.
Were you concerned about it failing?
Absolutely, so we made two cakes to have a backup. It was a big relief when it was finally set up in the ballroom and we could go and celebrate. The stress was incredible. Nothing will ever top it, but I’d never do it again.
A piece of the cake was sold at auction in 2018 for $4000. Does that surprise you?
No, everyone wanted a piece of their cake. We cut the second cake up into over 2000 pieces and distributed it through the Navy cooking school and used some for fundraising. People would choose a slice of it over a TV in a raffle – it’s a slice of history! (Streaming now on BritBox)