July 29 marked the fortieth anniversary of the wedding of the (20th) century, that between Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. The intervening years have recorded the ups and downs and controversies of the marriage in endless detail, but for those lining The Mall, Fleet Street and the streets around St Paul’s Cathedral at the time, this was a fairytale occasion.
Such landmark events give rise to a plethora of collectables – in this case everything from commemorative mugs and plates to photographs. Significant anniversaries also lead to the appearance of such items at auction, and that is just what has happened now. A slice of the Royal wedding cake that had been given to a member of the Queen Mother’s staff, who put it carefully away for posterity, has been put up for auction with an estimate of £200-300.
A surprisingly large number of slices from the Royal Wedding cake have appeared for sale over the years – surprising, that is, until one learns that there were actually 23 official cakes made, while the main cake, which they cut, had five layers, was five feet tall and weighed 225 pounds.
This column has often remarked on the importance of anniversaries for creating renewed interest in a subject, leading to asscoiated items being flushed out of collections for auction. With the UK’s ongoing success at the current Tokyo Olympics, can we expect to see a flurry of medals and other Olympian items appear on the market before long?
