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Kept In A Tin And Cling Film For 40 Years, Princess Di's Cake Slice Sells For $2,565

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

This year would have been the 40th wedding anniversary of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

(SOUNDBITE OF JEREMIAH CLARKE'S "THE PRINCE OF DENMARK'S MARCH")

CORNISH: We all know how what seemed like a fairy tale in 1981 was anything but.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

The marriage did not last, but apparently, the wedding cake did.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Thank you. Three sixty? Three eighty? Yup. Four hundred? Four-hundred thousand now?

CHANG: What you hear is a video clip of a piece of the royal couple's wedding cake being auctioned off yesterday for more than $2,500. It had been preserved in plastic wrap inside a tin.

CORNISH: Gerry Layton of Leeds charters luxury boats. He purchased the sweet treat, which was one of the more than 20 official wedding cakes served on the big day. Layton is quoted as saying he plans to add the cake to his estate so it goes to charity after his death, but that he'll have to try and find a way not to eat it.

CHANG: That is the fate that befell a fictional piece of royal wedding cake on the '90s comedy "Seinfeld."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SEINFELD")

JOHN O'HURLEY: (As J. Peterman) Inside that small college boy mini-fridge is my latest acquisition - a slice of cake from the wedding of King Edward VIII to Wallis Simpson circa 1937. The price - $29,000.

CORNISH: That's character J. Peterman talking about his purchase. But "Seinfeld" fans will remember that Elaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, unwittingly ate the expensive piece of cake while in the throes of a late-afternoon sugar craving.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SEINFELD")

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS: (As Elaine) Anybody here? Peter-boy?

(LAUGHTER)

LOUIS-DREYFUS: (As Elaine) It's a cakewalk.

CORNISH: Hopefully, Layton has a plan to ward off those end-of-the-day munchies.

(SOUNDBITE OF JONATHAN WOLFF AND YONI WOLF'S "SEINFELD THEME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Courtney Dorning has been a Senior Editor for NPR's All Things Considered since November 2018. In that role, she's the lead editor for the daily show. Dorning is responsible for newsmaker interviews, lead news segments and the small, quirky features that are a hallmark of the network's flagship afternoon magazine program.
Alejandra Marquez Janse is a producer for NPR's evening news program All Things Considered. She was part of a team that traveled to Uvalde, Texas, months after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary to cover its impact on the community. She also helped script and produce NPR's first bilingual special coverage of the State of the Union – broadcast in Spanish and English.