Have Your Cake but Don't Eat It

A piece of wedding fruit cake from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip's 1947 wedding was
sold at auction in 2013 for 560 pounds, or about $744 US.

The nine foot tall, 500 pound fruit cake made with Australian fruits, brandy and rum was the centerpiece of the engagement celebration of the royals. The small piece (one of 2,000 from the original cake) up for auction is about 3.75" by 2" and has been stored for nearly seven decades in a box marked with the letters "E" and "P" and the date. Boxed with baking parchmen and a card inscribe "With the best wishes of Their Royal Highnesses The Princess Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh."

Part of the cake was returned to Australia as a thank you for the use of the fruit. Another layer was preserved and served at the Christening of Prince Charles in 1948.