A rare slice of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding cake has been sold at auction for £2,200 (roughly $2,837) to a buyer from China, over four times its expected value of £500. The piece of cake, initially expected to fetch £500, was sold to a buyer from China who purchased it over the phone for over $2,800.
The slice of cake was discovered in its original presentation box, stashed away under a bed in a suitcase along with a letter from Queen Elizabeth II. It was found 77 years after her wedding day on November 20, 1947. The cake slice was found by the family of Marion Polson after her death in the 1980s, stored under a bed with some of her belongings.
The cake was gifted to Polson, who worked as a housekeeper at Edinburgh's Palace of Holyroodhouse from 1931 to 1969. Queen Elizabeth II, then aged 21, sent Polson a personal letter thanking her for sending along a "delightful wedding present." The letter from Queen Elizabeth II read: "My husband and I are deeply touched to know that you shared in giving us such a delightful wedding present."
After purchasing the couple a "delightful" dessert service, Polson was given a slice of the cake as a thank you. Queen Elizabeth II also wrote, "We are both enchanted with the dessert service; the different flowers and the beautiful coloring will, I know, be greatly admired by all who see it." She added in the letter, "This is a present which we shall use constantly, and whenever we do we shall think of the kindness and good wishes for our happiness which it represents. Your generosity will also enable us to buy at leisure something else which we shall need and for which we send you our grateful thanks in advance."
Polson's Scottish family contacted the auctioneers earlier this year as they sought to sell the cake under the hammer. Auctioneer James Grinter from Reeman Dansie Auctions described the cake as "a real little find, a little time capsule of glorious cake," according to People magazine. He added, "Bear in mind it was produced at a time of [postwar] rationing... They had the most magnificent cake made for them. I've seen photographs of it—it would fill half a room, it was absolutely enormous."
Grinter, Reeman Dansie's royal expert, said Polson's slice of cake was the first piece ever sold "in its completeness." "This one actually has its original contents which is very, very rare," he said, according to People. Grinter concluded, "It's not in the best condition now. I don't think I'd want to eat it," as reported by US Weekly.
Jonathan Benson, another auctioneer at Reeman Dansie, said, "It's incredibly rare because normally, of course, people would have eaten it," according to Rugby. He also remarked, "It would have been such a treat for the household staff; the obvious thing to do was eat them." Benson noted, "The cakes were made at a time when rationing was still fully enforced." He added, "Fruit cake to my knowledge is pretty resilient; it's dried out but I don't think it goes off, and while we have not tried it, it may retain some of its flavour." Benson also said, "It's amazing how much interest a piece of fruit cake can create in one day."
The original cake, served to 2,000 guests at the wedding of then-Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip on November 20, 1947, consisted of four tiers, was laced with alcohol, and featured delicate regal decorations. The couple's cake was nine feet tall, four tiers high, and weighed 500 pounds. Slices of the cake were gifted to royal staff to mark the wedding of then-Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Prince Philip of Greece R.N.
Following their November 1947 nuptials, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were together until their respective deaths in 2022 and 2021. Prince Philip died first in April 2021 at the age of 99, predeceasing Queen Elizabeth II's September 2022 passing at 96. The future Queen took the throne on February 6, 1952, less than five years after their wedding.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are buried together at the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. They are survived by their four children: King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward, as well as multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Sources: People, Rugby, US Weekly, Asharq Al-Awsat
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq