Looking back at Queen Elizabeth’s 70 year reign there were so many times where her dry sense of humour transformed a small interaction into an iconic moment. One of my personal favourites came in 2021 when she visited The Eden Project and let’s just say I couldn’t help feeling a sense of déjà vu when King Charles and Queen Camilla were there on 24th March.
The couple marked the project’s 25th anniversary and, like with all parties, a celebration wouldn’t be a celebration without a commemorative cake. Cue some pretty dramatic cake-cutting from Their Majesties that was almost a direct parallel of Queen Elizabeth’s years earlier.
The Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall handed his sword to Charles and Camilla and the couple couldn’t contain their giggles as they struggled to slice the cake. Pictures show them working hard to get the blade through the sponge, which was decorated like a street party.
They eventually succeeded and afterwards whilst the crowd applauded, the King jokingly gestured like he was stabbing the cake with the sword. Swords are not conventional cake-cutting implements, though they’re often used ceremonially by the royals for occasions like this.
It’s likely there would’ve been a knife on hand just in case and King Charles and Queen Camilla might not have even been anticipating being handed the sword. Queen Elizabeth on the other hand insisted on using Colonel Edward Bolitho’s sword when she visited The Eden Project.
Watched by Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales, the late Queen excitedly plunged the Lord Lieutenant’s sword into the cake, as an aide said, "There is a knife."
"I know there is!" she responded quickly. "This is more unusual".
Unusual it is - and perhaps not super efficient - but it’s so funny to see King Charles and Queen Camilla essentially recreating Queen Elizabeth’s moment five years on. She was there for The Big Lunch initiative and so were Their Majesties in 2026.
The couple joined a celebratory Big Lunch where they met volunteers and supporters who’ll be sharing food, friendship and helping out ahead of the Big Lunch and Big Help Out weekend from 5th-8th June. They possibly thought back to Queen Elizabeth’s sword moment as they had their own during the visit and this wasn’t the only time a cake sparked a quip from her.
In February 2022 she attended a Platinum Jubilee tea party and was presented with an iced cake with the jubilee logo on it. The Queen was informed that it was "upside down" so that the letters were readable for the press.
"Oh, they can see it!" she exclaimed dryly. "I don’t matter!"
When it came to cutting the cake, the Queen used a large knife and after getting it into the centre and saying, "It fits in beautifully", she remarked, "Somebody else can finish it off, do the rest of it."
It seems there’s never a dull moment with the royals and cake-cutting, and even for them Queen Elizabeth’s Cornwall moment is pretty memorable. Queen Camilla mentioned it in July 2021, joking, “I won’t have your sword!” as she used a knife to cut a gateau for the 10 year anniversary of the Prince's Countryside fund.
