A slice of wedding cake from the nuptials of the late Lady Diana and Prince Charles has been put up for auction and sold by a former employee of the royal household, who stored it in cling film inside a metal tin in her attic for an amazing twenty-seven years.

The slice which measured twenty-three centimetres, was a marzipan base covered in icing which displayed the royal coat of arms. It had been a gift to a member of staff who worked at Clarence House for the Queen Mother ,and was a segment of one of twenty-three formal wedding cakes commissioned for the royal wedding.

The employee had recently passed away and left her family specific instructions that in the event of her death the cake should be sold and the proceeds donated to charity.

The official auctioneers’ description of the rare lot read:-

“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. A highly unusual (and probably inedible) collector’s item.”

The cake sold for $1,830 which equates to a value of around £1,000 to an anonymous bidder together with a typed memo signed by both Charles and Diana expressing thanks to the employee for a wedding gift that they had received from staff members of the royal household.

Along with your wedding dress, your wedding cake will be one of the main focal points of your big day, not to mention being an important photographic opportunity. It is as time-honoured as the bride being late or the best man bungling his speech! wedding ceremonies wouldn’t be the same without the cutting of the cake, but did you realise that there is a particular way in which to cut it?

It is customary for the bride & groom to make the first two cuts together, usually with a ceremonial knife or a wedding cake serving set. Some couples have a serving set with their names and / or venue and date engraved on the knife and cake server.

To begin the bride should place her right hand on the handle of the knife. The groom should put his hand over hers, and together they begin cutting on the bottom tier of the cake with the point of the knife. Two incisions are made to cut a small piece which is then placed on a plate.

Traditionally the bride and groom will then feed it to each other. This will be their first duty as man and wide and is said to signify that they are committed to sharing their lives with one another. It is also believed to symbolise the creation of new family unit and the replacement of the old parent-child union. In antiquated rituals the bride would serve portions of cake to members of the parents of the groom as a symbol of the transfer of her household labour to his family.

During the cutting of the cake the attention of the entire wedding party will be focused on it, so ensure that it is placed in a prominent but secure spot, preferably close to the top table, without obscuring the guests’ view if possible.