Four days and counting! As Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s May 19 wedding nears, royal baker Claire Ptak has already begun preparing their cake.
Ptak, who owns London’s Violet Bakery, took to Instagram on Monday, May 14, to showcase the first steps of creating the couple’s lemon elderflower cake.
“And so it begins,” Ptak captioned a photo of six cartons of lemons. She also shared a snapshot of the decor, writing “petal perfect” alongside an ornate frosted flower, lading fans to believe that the sweet treat would be added to the cake.
Natoora, the company that sourced the lemons, tells Us Weekly that “the lemons [Ptak] used for the royal wedding cake come from a grove in Sorrento, just off the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy.”
Kensington Palace revealed in March that the Suits alum, 36, and the royal, 33, had asked the California-born baker “to create a lemon elderflower cake that will incorporate the bright flavors of spring. It will be covered with buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers.”
Markle and Ptak are already well acquainted, as the soon-to-be royal interviewed the pastry chef for her lifestyle website, The Tig, which shut down in April 2017.
Although the final details are falling into place as Markle and Prince Harry prepare to tie the knot at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on Saturday, one detail remains uncertain.
The actresses’ father, Thomas Markle, revealed to TMZ on Monday, May 14, that he will not attend the nuptials or walk his daughter down the aisle following a heart attack the week before. News of Thomas’ health complications came one day after the Daily Mail published seemingly staged photos of him reading a news story about Meghan and Harry. However, he told TMZ on Tuesday that he is back in the hospital after experiencing chest pain and hopes to travel to England for the ceremony.
“Of course I’d walk her down the aisle,” he told the site. “This is a historic moment. I’d like to be part of history.”
Nonetheless, Markle has been stressed over the ideal and is concerned about the lighting director’s health. “Meghan is devastated that her father isn’t making it,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly. “She has been very upset and would very much like for Tom to be at the wedding. She never disinvited him. She has always wanted him there.”
