Yorkshire man buys a slice of Princess Diana's wedding cake for £1,850

A man from Yorkshire who bought a piece of Princess Dianna’s wedding cake at auction for almost £2,000 - 40 years after she married Prince Charles - says he is tempted to have a “tiny nibble”.
The slice of cake from one of the 23 official wedding cakes made for the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on July 29 in 1981The slice of cake from one of the 23 official wedding cakes made for the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on July 29 in 1981
The slice of cake from one of the 23 official wedding cakes made for the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on July 29 in 1981

Self-proclaimed royalist Gerry Layton, of Leeds, is now the owner of a large piece of cake, which is covered in marzipan and features a royal coat-of-arms coloured in gold, red, blue and silver.

It is from one of the 23 official wedding cakes that were made for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday, July 29 in 1981.

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It was given to Moya Smith, a member of the Queen Mother’s household at Clarence House, and she preserved the topping with cling film before her family sold the cake to a collector in 2008.

Gerry Layton outside his home in LeedsGerry Layton outside his home in Leeds
Gerry Layton outside his home in Leeds

The cake went under the hammer at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Gloucestershire on Wednesday afternoon, and was expected to fetch between £300 and £500, but after a flurry of bidding Mr Layton paid £1,850.

“Before the cake goes or before I go, I’ve got to have a tiny nibble,” said Mr Layton.

“I’ll be very, very careful not to disturb the icing or anything like that - just try and take a little piece out of the corner.

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“When I get up in the middle of the night, I’ll eat anything. I’ve got a voracious appetite.”

Mr Layton, who picked up the cake today and said it is in “excellent condition”, is now trying to decide what to do with it after he tries a piece.

The former member of the 1960s band The Outer Limits, who now charters a boat providing luxury tours of the River Thames in London, forked out a total of £2,170, after he bought the cake and paid the buyers' premium.

He believes the cake’s value will increase in the coming years and he wants a charity to benefit.

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“I thought I would like to add it to my estate, which will be going to charity after my death,” he said.

“I hope to be here for a long time but the virus prompted me to make a will. I have 25 charities listed in my will.

“I also thought that I could put it up as a raffle prize with some of the money going to Centrepoint, which Princess Di was patron of.”