By Anna Burdett

Last updated at 20:03, Tuesday, 10 May 2011

A royal wedding fan has bought a four-tier cake donated to charity by Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

Alexandra Sharpe with her father Alan

Alexandra Sharpe, from Blennerhasset, says she will never eat the four-foot fruit cake, which took a team of chefs 300 hours to make.

Inspired by the beauty of the royal wedding, she searched online for a keepsake but got more than she bargained for.

She paid more than £500 in a bidding war on eBay for the towering royal memento and plans to exhibit it around the county.

The 39-year-old said: “It’s too beautiful to eat.

“It was a complete shock to actually get the cake. I went over my budget. it’s wonderful to have a piece of history like this.”

She already owns a slice of Princess Anne’s wedding cake.

A full-time carer to her dad Alan, Alexandra added:. “I put royal wedding cake into the search box to see what it would throw up.”

“It was a beautiful wedding, I like all the pomp and circumstance. It hasn’t sunk in that I’ve actually bought this cake.

“The cake is edible for six months, I hope I don’t get tempted especially as I’m trying to lose weight.”

The Welsh National Culinary Team prepared the cake, which featured on televisions around the world before the royal wedding. Prince William asked that it be sold in aid of homeless charity Centrepoint.

Said to be worth £3,500, it bears the monograms of the happy couple as well as the prince’s coat of arms, the red Welsh dragon and a harp. Each tier is two cakes deep.

Alexandra said: “I think I got a bargain though. It took these chefs 300 hours to make and what I paid for it wouldn’t even pay the minimum wage.

“It does look stunning and I think I’ll exhibit it around west Cumbria. I’m excited and overwhelmed.”

First published at 11:31, Monday, 09 May 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk