A piece of wedding cake from the royal wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles was purchased by a royal fan for 1,850 pounds, which translates to $2,565 at an auction. The piece of cake was bought about 4 decades after the couple married, according to US media reports.

Moya Smith, a member of the royal staff at the time of the royal wedding, was presented with a chunk of the cake. Smith preserved the piece with a cling film and dated the package on July 29, 1981, according to reports from the news agency Associated Press.

The piece of cake, which is reportedly large in size, was covered in icing with a base made out of marzipan featured a detailed, sugared design of the royal coat of arms. The major colours that were found on the confectionary item were gold, red, blue and silver.

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After an intense round of bidding amongst multiple potential purchasers, Gerry Layton secured the ownership of the cake on Wednesday after putting forward the highest amount. Layton paid several times over the actual price of the cake, which is estimated to be around 300 to 500 pounds.

Layton, who described himself as a monarchist, said he would add the cake piece to his collection which would in turn benefit charities, Associated Press reported.

He said, “I thought I would like to add it to my estate, which will be going to charity after my death”, according to reports from the news agency Associated Press. 

His statement added, “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.”

More than 20 cakes made it to the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, which was organised by the British Royal Family in St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981.