Duchess Meghan truly understands the importance of helping others, even as she is meant to be celebrating herself. The royal turned 38 on Sunday, August 4, and reportedly marked the momentous occasion with a meaningful treat.
According to royal reporter Omid Scobie, the Duchess of Sussex rang in her recent birthday at home at Frogmore Cottage with a cake from London’s Luminary Bakery. The establishment, which is located in the city’s Stoke Newington neighborhood, is dedicated to empowering vulnerable women and was included in the “Forces of Change” September issue of British Vogue Meghan recently guest-edited.
“Thanks so much to Alice Williams and the awesome team at @LuminaryBakery in London for letting us join them last weekend as they created Duchess Meghan’s beautiful carrot birthday cake,” Scobie tweeted on Friday, August 9, alongside a photo of the Duchess’s birthday dessert.
The cake, which embraced the minimal frosting trend, read “Happy birthday Meghan” in brown frosting. It was decorated with a couple of orange slices, as well as several decorative green sprigs.
“@LuminaryBakery’s dedication to helping women from disadvantaged backgrounds get their lives back on track is impressive,” Scobie added. “And the social enterprise (one of Meghan’s #ForcesForChange) is growing fast — they announced a cookbook today and have a second location opening soon!”
The bakery is “a social enterprise designed to offer opportunities for women to build a future for themselves,” according to its website. More specifically, it employs a multi-year program to teach women who are homeless, have been in the prison system, are victims of domestic violence, or in the sex trade, how to bake and find employment.
“To have someone like the Duchess acknowledge us and champion us is incredible,” Luminary Bakery’s founder and CEO, Alice Williams, told Good Morning America. “I think it will open a lot of doors for us.”
Williams apparently found out the business she created was slated to be featured in British Vogue’s September issue when she received a handwritten note from the duchess herself. “The work you do, what you represent to the community, the spirit of the women there- you all embody what it means to be ‘forces for change,’” Meghan wrote in the missive. “Thank you for being a part of this special project.”
The Suits alum’s birthday treat was decidedly different from another important confection in her life — her wedding cake. When Meghan and Prince Harry tied the knot in May 2018, they celebrated the occasion with a lemon elderflower creation from Violet Cakes in London, which is owned by California-born baker Claire Ptak. That cake was covered in buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers.
