A Piece of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's Wedding Cake Was Found Under a Bed

The 77-year-old slice brought in four times its expected value at auction.

Almost eight decades later, an iconic royal wedding is back in the news. The late Queen Elizabeth II memorably married Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947, in front of 2,000 guests—and an unexpected memento from the ceremony just went up for auction. After a slice from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s wedding cake was discovered under a bed in Scotland, it sold for $2,800 at auction, over four times its expected price.

According to the BBC, the happy couple originally gifted a piece of the 9-foot fruit cake to Marion Polson—a housekeeper at Edinburgh's Palace of Holyroodhouse from 1931 to 1969—after she gave them a dinner service as a wedding gift. Polson kept the "very, very rare" slice, and after her death in the 1980s, it found its way to a suitcase underneath a bed in Scotland.

The slice, which was still in its original box and accompanied by a letter from the future queen, was put up for auction by Polson’s family when it was found and it quickly drew interest as it was the first piece ever sold “in its completeness.” Queen Elizabeth’s attached letter also added value to the package, which ended up selling for significantly more than the $650 estimate.

The royal's letter, which was dated November 1947, read, "My husband and I are deeply touched to know that you shared in giving us such a delightful wedding present. We are both enchanted with the dessert service; the different flowers and the beautiful colouring will, I know, be greatly admired by all who see it."

While Kate Middleton and Prince William’s 2011 nuptials made history as the biggest royal wedding of the century, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s celebration has also endured as one of the British monarchy’s most memorable ones for different reasons. After getting some pushback on their decision to get married, Elizabeth wed her naval officer beau wearing a cream silk wedding gown sewn with thousands of pearls that she’d purchased with clothing coupons amidst World War II rationing. As the couple rang in their nuptials with thousands of guests, they served a lavish 9-foot cake with four tiers that weighed 500 pounds—an extravagant choice in wartime days.

While the cake might not be in the best condition 77 years later, James Grinter, a part of the Reeman Dansie auction house, summed up its appeal due to continued royal nostalgia.

"It's a real little find, a little time capsule of glorious cake," he said, per the BBC.