Former Chauffeur to Queen Auctions Off Cake Slices from British Royal Weddings

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s royal wedding procession.
Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire via Mail Online

On June 27, Royal Family fanatics can make a bid—and maybe take a bite—of Royal Wedding history.

Julien’s Auctions, the Beverly Hills-based, self-proclaimed “auction House to the Stars,” has listed five slices of Royal Wedding cake from the estate of the former first chauffeur to Queen Elizabeth II, Leonard Massey.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding cake, made by the team of pastry chef Fiona Cairns.
Photo: Getty Images via the Telegraph

The confectionary collectables come from the weddings of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips; Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson; Prince Charles and Princess Diana; Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles; and Prince William and Kate Middleton (see Prince William and Kate Party at the Met).

The price estimates start at $400 for a slice of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ cake, and go up to $2,000 for a piece of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s cake. In 2011, however, a slice of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding cake fetched $7,500 at Julien’s Auctions.

The cakes are packaged in decorative commemorative gift boxes, monogrammed and decorated to match the wedding themes. Auction listings indicate that only two cakes—from Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips’ 1973 wedding, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s 1986 nuptials—are not suitable for consumption, implying that the rest, from 1981, 2005, and 2011, are.

A piece of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding cake, sold at auction in 2011
Photo: Getty Images via New York Post

But it is hard to imagine a winning bidder, even the biggest Royal Family fanatic, actually wanting to eat the cakes, so visitors to London’s Stafford Hotel, where the sugary memorabilia will be displayed until June 6, can partake in a “Royal Wedding Afternoon Tea” while the cakes are on view.