AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
This year would have been the 40th wedding anniversary of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
(SOUNDBITE OF JEREMIAH CLARKE'S "THE PRINCE OF DENMARK'S MARCH")
CORNISH: We all know how what seemed like a fairy tale in 1981 was anything but.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The marriage did not last, but apparently, the wedding cake did.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Thank you. Three sixty? Three eighty? Yup. Four hundred? Four-hundred thousand now?
CHANG: What you hear is a video clip of a piece of the royal couple's wedding cake being auctioned off yesterday for more than $2,500. It had been preserved in plastic wrap inside a tin.
CORNISH: Gerry Layton of Leeds charters luxury boats. He purchased the sweet treat, which was one of the more than 20 official wedding cakes served on the big day. Layton is quoted as saying he plans to add the cake to his estate so it goes to charity after his death, but that he'll have to try and find a way not to eat it.
CHANG: That is the fate that befell a fictional piece of royal wedding cake on the '90s comedy "Seinfeld."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SEINFELD")
JOHN O'HURLEY: (As J. Peterman) Inside that small college boy mini-fridge is my latest acquisition - a slice of cake from the wedding of King Edward VIII to Wallis Simpson circa 1937. The price - $29,000.
CORNISH: That's character J. Peterman talking about his purchase. But "Seinfeld" fans will remember that Elaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, unwittingly ate the expensive piece of cake while in the throes of a late-afternoon sugar craving.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SEINFELD")
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS: (As Elaine) Anybody here? Peter-boy?
(LAUGHTER)
LOUIS-DREYFUS: (As Elaine) It's a cakewalk.
CORNISH: Hopefully, Layton has a plan to ward off those end-of-the-day munchies.
(SOUNDBITE OF JONATHAN WOLFF AND YONI WOLF'S "SEINFELD THEME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
