The ‘Royal’ Effect: The Net Worth Of The Three Royal Children

With a father and mother boasting a combined net worth of approximately £35 million and a ‘Gan Gan’ (the royals' nickname for Queen Elizabeth II) worth £392 million, it’s not exactly a surprise that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and their baby brother can afford to buy the odd penny sweet now and again.

Their net worth is calculated by their value to the UK economy; here, we take a look into the marketability of each of the royal children:

Prince George

As the first born royal and future heir to the British throne, it’s unsurprising that Prince George is worth the big bucks when it comes to estimating his net worth.

Romper estimates the four-year-old’s worth to be in the realm of £1.7 billion ($2.4 billion) as a result of the ‘Prince George’ effect that has parents across the world trying to emulate the toddler’s fashion ‘choices’ with their own loved ones.

In July 2015, George cemented his name in GQ’s '50 Best Dressed Men in Britain' after he arrived at his sister's Christening. For the occasion, the toddler wore an outfit by designer Rachel Riley- one of the Duchess of Cambridge's favourite childrenswear designers - which sold out within hours of him making his appearance.

In addition, the likes of Crocs, a £64 Olivier Baby and Kids cashmere cardigan, and a white-and-blue trimmed gingham bathrobe (seen on the prince while meeting President Obama) also resulted in sell—out stocks for brands.

Related article: This is Kate Middleton and Prince William's Third Child's Official Royal Title

In July 2016, the prince wore a £9 Sunuva T-shirt for his third birthday photoshoot which resulted in the design selling out in just an hour after the images were released.

In September 2017, the royal reportedly drove up British demand for lentils – yes, really. The Times reported George’s school, Thomas’s Battersea, serves puy lentils for lunch, meaning George eats lentils and therefore the pulse is now ‘in’.

"It’s the star effect you get as soon as a VIP is seen with a product," Antoine Wassner, chairman of a lentil merchant in Le Puy-en-Velay in central France, said. "We have been getting a lot of orders . . . notably from restaurants."

Of course, it’s unknown whether the royal even likes/eats lentils, but that hasn’t stopped farmers and sellers banking on the four-year-old potential love of the dish.

"There have been a lot of people making contact with us. Just yesterday I had a call from a wholesaler. It’s too early to say what effect this will have on sales, but we’re certainly happy to get the publicity," Franck Rocher, chairman of the Puy lentil producers’ association said.

Princess Charlotte

According to leading independent branded business valuation consultancy, Brand Finance, in just three years, Charlotte now boasts a net value of more than £3 billion, which started growing the second she was presented to the world.

On 2 May 2015, the Duchess of Cambridge showed off her newborn daughter on the steps of St Mary's Hospital in London, wrapping her newborn baby in a pure white wool shawl, made by family business, GH Hurt & Son Ltd, in Nottingham.

As a result, the company reportedly sold thousands of the shawls within hours, with production doubling overnight.

Likewise, the vintage Silver Cross pram that carried Charlotte to her Christening at Sandringham in July that year, reportedly had a similar effect.

The so-called 'Charlotte effect' occurred yet again in 2016, after photos of William and Kate with Prince George and Prince Charlotte wearing ski gear on holiday were released and the pink fleecy shoes on the toddler resulted in childrenswear company, My1styears.com, selling 259 pairs of the £25 booties – a 97 per cent increase on normal sales.

Related article: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Welcomes Royal Baby Number 3

As a result, the toddler now has a new worth valued more than her three-year-old brother, George.

If you're surprised that Charlotte's net worth is greater than George's, considering he's closer in line to the throne, Brand Finance's marketing and communications director, Robert Haigh, explained to Marie Claire:

"This is actually as simple as the relative size of the men's and women's fashion markets, by which I mean that Charlotte's endorsement effect will likely be felt across a much broader range of products and brands or types of clothing than will George's, allowing a greater scope for the monetisation of her 'brand' and hence a higher value."

The new prince

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge might not have named their baby son as yet but it's already expected the newest royal baby could generate up to £80 million for the economy immediately after being born.

However, a princess would have boosted the economy more.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research, told the Telegraph that a royal princess would bring in up to £150m to the British economy, with fashion retailers the main beneficiaries.

He said: "I think there will be an immediate boost of around £80m when the baby is born, with around £20-£25m spent on souvenirs and the rest on food and drink such as cake and sparkling wine. There isn’t as much excitement when it’s the second baby, but a girl would have the potential to boost the fashion industry.

"As well as the boost to baby clothing sales that we have seen from Prince George, a Princess would be able to set trends throughout her life, which will be great for the people who designed her clothes or those who can make quick knock-off copies.

"It might even provide the impetus for people to start up whole new companies."

The Duke of Cambridge told well-wishers before the birth of Prince George that he was hoping for a girl but the Duchess of Cambridge wanted a boy.

Related article: Princess Charlotte Will Make Royal History When Her New Sibling Arrives

This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR UK.