This Is How Much a Slice of Cake From Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ 1981 Wedding Is Worth Now

The piece of cake is described as “partly cracked” and with “slight damage” to the shield.

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photos By (L) Patrick Riviere (R) davidf

By Devika Menon

July 30, 2021

Posted July 30, 2021

Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The royal wedding was attended by 3500 people, along with 750 million people around the globe watching the Prince exchange vows with the radiant young Lady Diana Spencer.

Adhering to royal traditions, the Prince and Princess of Wales served fruitcake at their wedding reception. The five-tier confection was five feet tall and 225 pounds. The towering cake was baked by David Avery, head baker at the Royal Navy’s cooking school in Kent, over a period of 14 weeks.

Now, a 28-ounce piece of cake from Princess Diana and Prince Charles' wedding, from 1981, is going to be up for auction. The 40-year-old cake is expected to fetch 500 British pounds, or about $700, when it is auctioned on August 11, 2021.

The four-decade-old slice is 8 inches by 7 inches and features a marzipan base, complete with a pristine royal coat of arms in blue, red, and gold, per Us Weekly. It is described as “partly cracked” and with “slight damage” to the shield, per The Washington Post.

The delectable slice was given by the Queen Mother to Moyra Smith, a member of Queen Elizabeth’s household at Clarence House. Smith stored the slice in a floral cake tin with a label on top reading, “Handle with care — Prince Charles & Princess Diane’s [sic] wedding cake,” along with the date “29/7/81.”

A piece of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake is up for sale at auction, coinciding with what would have been the Wales' 40th anniversary.

Anyone fancy a slice? 🍰 pic.twitter.com/zIhvNgrd62
— InYourArea.co.uk (@InYourArea_UK) July 29, 2021

Smith first sold the cake to a collector in 2008, who is now putting the rare item for auction, per the New York Post. According to the auctioneer for this slice, Smith began her career at Clarence House in the kitchen before moving on to more general duties. Besides the main official wedding cake, there were 22 other wedding cakes, supplied by various manufacturers, at the venue.

“This seems likely to have been one sent to Clarence House for the consumption of the Queen Mother's staff,” the auctioneer said. “In view of its size, it is most likely that it was either from the side of a cake or from the top of a single-tier cake.”

“It appears to be in exactly the same good condition as when originally sold,” Chris Albury, auctioneer and senior valuer at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, told HuffPost. “But we advise against eating it.”

He then said that "after 40 years it's clearly destined to last," per PEOPLE.