The royal couple treated the guests at their reception to marinated salmon, crab, langoustines and organic lamb. One of the menus could sell for up to £500 at auction
Prince William and Kate’s stunning wedding breakfast menu is seen for the first time as it goes up for auction.
The ornate menu for the evening dinner served to just 300 of their closest family and friends in the Buckingham Palace ballroom has never been revealed before as that part of the April 29 2011 ceremony was completely private.
However, it has now been photographed alongside other auction items including a rare signed photograph of Queen Victoria and her three future kings and a telegram from the Queen to the midwife who delivered Prince Charles.
The items are for sale as part of a collection of royal memorabilia spanning 200 years going under the hammer at Reeman Dansie Auctioneers in Colchester next Tuesday.
The wedding menu reveals guests including the Middletons, Prince Harry and Prince Charles and Kate and William’s best friends from school started with marinated South Uist salmon, Lyme Bay crab and wild Hebridean langoustines served with a 2009 Meursault.
They then enjoyed organic lamb and Highgrove spring vegetables and sauce Windsor before feasting on dessert of a trio of sherry trifle, chocolate parfait and Berkshire honey ice cream - a nod to bride Kate’s home county.
Kate changed from the lace gown by McQueen designer Sarah Burton that she wore in Westminster Abbey into a slinkier satin gown with a diamanté waistband for the evening meal and party.
Pictured at the top centre of the menu is Prince Charles’ heraldic badge of three white ostrich feathers emerging from a gold coronet.
A ribbon below bears the words ‘ich dien’ which translates as ‘I serve’, and the menu is bordered by a pattern of green plants and birds.
It is part of lot 178 which includes other menus from the day as well as wedding invitations and has an estimate of £300 to £500.
This could be conservative given the fact that in December a slice of William and Kate’s wedding cake sold for a staggering $7,500 (£5,000) in Beverly Hills.
Kate and William were married in front of 1,900 guests inside Westminster Abbey on Friday April 29 before inviting just 650 back to Buckingham Palace for a canape reception.
But by far the most exclusive part of the day was the evening party in the State Apartments of Buckingham Palace where the Throne Room was transformed into a nightclub.
Also up for grabs in the auction is a 1993 black and white photograph of Princess Diana expected to sell for at least £3,000 and letters she sent to London Fashion Week producer John Gairdner for £300 to £500 each.
Auctioneer James Grinter who will sell the lots on Feb 17, said: “It is very rare to find such a remarkable Royal collection as this, spanning 200 years from Queen Victoria, through King Edward VII, King George V, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, King George VI and the Queen Mother and our current Queen.
“The breadth, quality and condition of the individual items is amazing.
