Washington cupcake shop offers taste of royal wedding

[May 09, 2018]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For those longing for a taste of the upcoming wedding of Britain's Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle, a pair of Washington sisters are ready to provide it - in cupcake form.

Georgetown Cupcake co-founder Sophie LaMontagne shows off the bakery's commemorative cupcakes they'll be selling in honor of the upcoming royal wedding between Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle, at her shop in Washington, U.S. May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Georgetown Cupcake, which has already garnered national media attention for its gourmet treats, is busy baking up a "royal wedding dozen" that includes two of lemon elderflower modeled on the cake at Harry and Markle's May 19 celebration. To complete the wedding theme, the cupcake is frosted to look like an English rose.

"When we found out Harry and Meghan's wedding cake flavor was lemon elderflower, we knew we had to do something special at Georgetown Cupcake to celebrate," said Sophie LaMontagne, who owns the bustling shop with her sister, Katherine Berman.

Customers at the store in Washington's tony Georgetown neighborhood approved when treated to samples of the mix of lemon and elderflower, which comes from the European elderberry.

"It seems like them, right?" said Georgina Argamonte, referring to the royal couple.

"Yeah, because it's a little bit of lemon and vanilla and so it's a little bit of sweet and tart. So, I think that mixes with their personality," said Argamonte, a 51-year-old from Puerto Rico who was visiting her two children studying in Washington.

Harry, the 33-year-old son of the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles, and Markle, 36, are set to be married at Windsor Castle before 600 invited guests amid intense global media attention.

In 2011, Georgetown Cupcake came up with special cakes for Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton. But the current cupcake array is distinctly Harry and Markle, with pearlized wedding sprinkles, fondant Union Jacks and "H&M" symbols.

For Toronto-raised LaMontagne, the royal wedding is personal. “We grew up in Canada. We were born and raised there," she said as she frosted a cake.

"And we grew up, you know, watching Princess Diana. We've always had a keen interest in the royal family every since we were little girls."

The cupcakes are not the only pastries with the wedding theme on sale. Decades-old slices of cake from British royal weddings - including those of Charles and Diana and of William and Middleton - go up for auction next month.

(Reporting by Gavino Garay; Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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