King Hussein of Jordan celebrates his 43rd birthday at the Alpina.

An exclusive cake was made for the occasion by a master confectioner in Munich and delivered to the Alpina by refrigerated transport. During unloading, one of the porters suddenly tripped over the existing safety barrier. He could no longer hold the cake, fell and the work of art shattered into pieces. Paralysing horror!

Queen Noor had watched the action from her flat and, after her initial shock, enjoyed herself „royally“. The catastrophe was at least somewhat defused.

Nevertheless, good advice was expensive.

The cake supplier in Munich was unable to recreate such an elaborate cake in such a short space of time. Finally, a local confectioner was found who was able to produce a replacement piece in the form of a multi-tiered Baumkuchen at short notice, so that the mishap was limited.

The king, who arrived later, was also rather amused by the mishap and many of his entourage smiled about it for some time.