Slice of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's wedding cake goes up for auction after 77 years

A slice of wedding cake from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's November 1947 nuptials is about to go under the hammer in the UK.

Hansons auctioneers in Derbyshire, 240 kilometres northwest of London, have the box of crumbs as part of their four-day antiques & collectors auction, which kicked off on Thursday.

Then-Princess Elizabeth wed Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey in front of 2000 guests, followed by a reception at Buckingham Palace for 150 guests, which featured a four-tier cake.

In addition, there were dozens of other cakes made for members of the royal household, slices of which were given in boxes to staff including butler Cyril Dickman, who went on to become the late queen's Palace Steward.

After Dickman's death in 2012, at the age of 85 - and after more than five decades of royal service - the box was found and is now being auctioned off.

"The cake seems to have survived the passage of time quite well, though it's not something I would want to dunk in a cup of tea," auctioneer Charles Hanson said.

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"On its own, it's just a box of crumbs, but with its incredible story, it is nothing less than a slice of British history."

It's expected to fetch around $300 at auction.

However, the last slice of cake from the long-enduring royal marriage sold for $4300 last November.

After being found under a bed, the 77-year-old slice of fruit cake sold to a bidder from China, who purchased it over the phone.

In contrast, a slice of cake from Prince Charles and Princess Diana's 1981 wedding cake sold at auction for $3483 in August 2021 and a slice of cake from Prince William and Kate's 2011 wedding sold for $7500 in 2014.

Elizabeth and Philip's 2.75-metre wedding cake featured a large base, which was dubbed the 10,000 mile cake because the ingredients had come from across the Commonwealth - including fruit provided by the Australian Girl Guides.

Weighing in a 226 kilograms, the bottom tier was made with 80 oranges, 660 eggs and more than 11 litres of navy rum.

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