A piece of wedding cake saved from Prince Charles' marriage to Lady Diana Spencer 27 years ago has sold at auction for STG1,000 ($A2,138).
While the only bit left of the slice was a 23cm square piece of icing and marzipan weighing 800 grams, an anonymous bidder couldn't resist buying the memento.
It had originally been given to Moyra Smith, who worked for the Queen Mother at Clarence House at the time of Charles and Diana's wedding in 1981.
Smith carefully preserved the top of the slice, featuring the royal coat of arms coloured in red, gold and blue, in clingfilm and kept it stored in a metal tin.
"To my knowledge this is the highest price for any slice of the cake sold at auction," Britain's The Daily Telegraph quoted auctioneer Nathan Winter, of Dominic Winter Book Auctions, as saying.
As well as the cake, the anonymous bidder bought a letter from Charles and Diana thanking Smith for chipping in to pay for a clock given to them as a wedding present.
The piece of Smith's cake came from one of 22 cakes made for the royal wedding and sliced up for distribution among royal staff.
The couple also had an official five-tier cake made for their big day.
"She was very sentimental about the cake," Smith's husband Douglas, 76, said.
"She loved the royal family and looked back with great fondness."
