Who would have ever imagined that a 77 year old slice of wedding cake, could make you a decent amount of money, almost 8 decades later?
A slice of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s 1947 royal wedding cake was recently auctioned for £2,200 British Pounds(roughly R51 300), not a shabby amount mind you. The piece of cake was discovered by the family of a former royal housekeeper “under a bed in a suitcase”.
Marion Polson, who worked at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, received the cake as a token of appreciation for the wedding gift that Polson had given the royals.
The fruit cake was still neatly packaged in a small box with the silver insignia of a then-Princess Elizabeth stamp on it and an elaborate doily inside, with a letter from Princess Elizabeth herself, reported by the BBC. In the letter, Elizabeth thanked Polson for her “delightful wedding present” and noted that she “was enchanted with the dessert service” during the royal wedding.
Polson served the Royal Family for 38 years, and held on to her royal wedding souvenir until her death in the 1980’s, when it was stowed away under a bed with some of her belongings.
Even though the cake is far from fit for human consumption, a royal fan in China snagged the cake in a bidding war, paying well over the expected £500, talk about a sweet deal! A slice of history, yes. A tasty snack? Probably not. While it might be a tempting treat for royal enthusiasts, let’s hope the winning bidder resists the urge to take a bite.
