Let them eat cake — after a pricey auction, of course!
A slice of cake from Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s 1981 wedding just sold for £1,850 ($2,565) at auction.
A 28-ounce slice of the cake from the momentous day was expected to sell for just 500 British pounds, or about $700. However, so many people expressed interest in bidding that the sales price more than tripled expectations.
The slice comes from one of the 23 official cakes made for the royal wedding, according to Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Cirencester, western England.
The cake has a white marzipan base and features a coat of arms in gold, red, blue and silver, in addition to a silver horseshoe and leaf spray.
The piece was given to Moyra Smith, who worked for Queen Elizabeth at Clarence House. Smith wrapped the slice in plastic and stored it in a floral cake tin with a label on top reading, “Handle with care — Prince Charles & Princess Diane’s [sic] wedding cake,” with the date “29/7/81.” Smith’s family sold the cake in 2008 to Gerry Layton, a private collector from Leeds.
Although the white icing has dulled, the cake looks almost exactly like it did 40 years prior.
“It appears to be in exactly the same good condition as when originally sold, but we advise against eating it,” the auction house declared.
Charles and Diana’s royal official wedding cake was baked by David Avery, head baker at the Royal Navy’s cooking school in Kent. It took 14 weeks to bake the fruit cake, which was decorated with the Prince of Wales’ coat of arms, the Spencer family crest and flowers — including roses and orchids.
The auction also included printed Ceremonial and Order of Service programs for the wedding, which drew in more than 750 million viewers worldwide. Also on the listing was a memorial Royal Wedding Breakfast menu and a table seating program for Buckingham Palace.
According to auctioneer Chris Albury, cakes from other royal weddings go up for sale at auctions quite often, but the official slice’s size made it stand out.
“I’ve not seen anyone else trying to sell anything like this,” he told CNN. “It’s quite a lump.”
On Thursday, the winning bidder will pick up the slice after traveling from Leeds.
The slice of cake is one of a handful of recently auctioned items relating to the princess. A car that Prince Charles gave her as an engagement present sold for more than £52,000 ($72,000). Her sons also agreed to loan her wedding dress to be displayed at Kensington Palace.
The couple wed at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London with around 3,500 in attendance. Following the ceremony, the pair and 120 of their guests dined at Buckingham Palace, enjoying dishes like brill in lobster sauce, chicken stuffed with lamb mousse and strawberries with cream.
The Princess of Wales died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 at 36.
