The Duchess of Cambridge and her first two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, have the power to send designers’ sales sky-rocketing and crash their websites simply by wearing their clothes.
Baby number three, who is yet to be named, looks set to follow in their footsteps. The little prince appeared outside St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington on Monday, wearing a blanket by GH Hurt & Son, which has said it expects to be “extremely hectic” for the next few days.
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Other clothes makers are also getting in on the action, creating collections inspired by the royals:
My 1st Years
The company was given the royal seal of approval two years ago, when Prince George sported a My 1st Years personalised blue gingham robe to meet then-president Barack Obama (only a prince can get away with meeting the leader of the free world in his pyjamas). The robe swiftly sold out and has been a favourite among parents ever since. In honour of Prince George’s little brother, the company has launched a limited edition royal-themed range, including robes, towels, pyjamas, high-top trainers and a rocking chair, all with the “regal touch of a crown”.
Boden
The Duchess of Cambridge wrapped up her baby bump in a bright red Boden coat to visit Great Ormond Street earlier this year. The clothes company, founded by Johnnie Boden in 1991, has since launched a limited-edition collection of baby clothes in celebration of the royal baby's birth. The clothes line, named A Very British Baby, includes a cashmere cardigan and bonnet that wouldn’t look out of place on Princess Charlotte and a sleepsuit with corgi embroidery and piping along its Peter Pan collar (below).
Rachel Riley
The luxury clothing brand welcomed the arrival of the new prince this week and directed customers to its range of clothing fit for a royal. Among its offerings are striped smocked sets, babysuits embroidered with crowns, frilly bonnets and bloomers, lace-up booties and a soldier motif cardigan. Rachel Riley, who studied pattern-cutting at a small haute couture atelier in Paris, is among Kate Middleton’s favourite children’s designers, and was behind these sailboat smocked dungarees worn by Prince George at his meet-and-greet with New Zealand babies in 2014 (below).
Joules
The high street shop is so popular in the Cambridge household that their dog Lupo is said to sleep on a Joules bed. Founded by Tom Joule, the company is celebrating the new arrival with “some right royal kit”, including babygros and jerseys featuring its iconic animal emblems (a bear, a fox and a rabbit) wearing crowns. The best of the Joules collection has to be its footless knitted legging tights designed for “little crawlers”, with a royal bear motif and the words “hip hip hooray” on the bottom.
GH Hurt & Son
Nottingham-based GH Hurt & Son has been supplying lace knitwear since 1912 and has been keeping royal newborns warm since Prince Charles was born. The Queen and Prince Philip wrapped their first born in a GH Hurt & Son blanket to present him to the world in November 1948. Princess Diana followed the tradition with Prince Harry and Prince William, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have also followed suit. The family company said it was “delighted” that the fifth in line to the throne was wearing its Nottingham Lace knitted baby shawl on Monday.
Louis was born on Monday at St Mary’s Hospital in London
Merrythought
It is not just clothing lines that are marking the new prince’s birth. Specialist needle workers at Britain's last remaining teddy bear factory have been putting the finishing touches on their own arrival: a collectable bear with a delicate blue silk bib to be embroidered with the prince’s name and date of birth and tied with a gold tassel and satin ribbon bow. Merrythought has already designed handmade teddy bears for the royal baby’s siblings. This one will have a hand-sewn smile and gold crown and rocking horse motif on his paw.
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