A slice from Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s wedding cake has been sold for £1,850 at an auction.
The slice, which features a sugared design of the royal coat of arms in gold, red, blue, and silver, is from one of the 23 cakes served at the British royal couple’s wedding in 1981.
It was given to a member of the Queen’s mother’s staff named Moya Smith, who preserved it with the help of a cling film inside an old floral cake tin, dated 29 July 1981.
“Handle with Care - Prince Charles & Princess Diane’’s [sic] Wedding Cake,” the label of the tin reads.
The cake was sold to Leeds-based collector Gerry Layton for more than triple times the estimated price of £300-500.
According to The Guardian, Layton will add the cake piece to his collection and benefit charities. “I thought I would like to add it to my estate, which will be going to charity after my death,” he told the outlet.
“I also thought that I could put it up as a raffle prize with some of the money going to Centrepoint, which Princess Di was patron of.”
A royal memorabilia specialist, Chris Albury from the Dominic Winter Auctioneers said that he was “amazed” at the number of bidders who were interested.
“It appears to be in exactly the same good condition as when originally sold,’’ Albury said. “But we advise against eating it.”
He also revealed that most inquiries to buy the cake came from the UK, the US, and the Middle East.
It has been 40 years since Prince Charles and Princess Diana tied the knot in a wedding ceremony on 29 July 1981 that was watched by around 750 million people around the globe.
They got married in a traditional Church of England wedding service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
The Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, Alan Webster, presided at the service, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, conducted the marriage.
The wedding took place just five months after their engagement was officially announced. Diana claimed to have only seen Charles 13 times between the start of their relationship and their wedding day.
