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It’s been four decades since the fairytale wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana captured the imagination of millions of people around the world.
Sadly, that fairytale would end in bitterness and turmoil but some things have remained – like a piece of their wedding cake. And it could be yours if have a few thousand rand to spare.
The portion – which measures 20x20cm and is decorated with the royal coat of arms in blue, gold and red – is going up for auction on 11 August at a British auction house and is expected to fetch £500 (around R10 246).
Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Gloucestershire calls the four-decade-old piece of fruitcake “a remarkable and unique keepsake”.
Chris Albury, one of the auction house’s royal memorabilia specialists, admits he “wouldn't recommend eating this curious and unique” slice of history.
“But after 40 years, it’s clearly destined to last.”
The piece of cake was a gift from the Queen Mother to Moyra Smith, her then-employee at Clarence House, who kept it in plastic wrap and stowed in an old floral cake tin. On a piece of tape she wrote “Handle with Care – Prince Charles & Princess Diane’s [sic] Wedding Cake”’.
Moyra then signed and dated the label and kept the cake until 2008 when it was bought by a collector.
According to multiple reports, the portion will be sold with an order of service for the wedding and the royal wedding breakfast programme.
This isn’t the only time a piece of royal memorabilia has been sold. Take a look.
Princess Diana's “Travolta dress”
It was the dress Diana wore when she danced with actor John Travolta at the White House in 1985. In 2019 it got sold on auction to the Historic Royal Palaces for a staggering £264 000 (about R5,39 million).
The queen’s knickers
A pair of knickers, which were allegedly owned by Queen Elizabeth II and left behind on a plane in 1968 during her visit to Chile, sold for £11 390 (about R225 000) on eBay in 2012.
They were said to have been nabbed by the pilot and given to one of his friends in Hungary. After the friend’s death in 2010, his family found the item and put it on eBay.
Queen Victoria’s bloomers
It seems royal underwear is a favourite as Queen Victoria's bloomers were also sold in 2019 for £1 000 (about R20 000).
The royal underwear, which measured 112cm at the waist, even had the initials VR embroidered on.
SOURCES: PEOPLE.COM, TELLERREPORT.COM, BBC.COM
