Want to wrap your baby like a royal? Be prepared to splash out some cash.
In case you’re living under a very, very large and isolated rock, you probably know that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have welcomed their third child, a baby boy.
While the baby’s name is yet to be revealed (bookies are currently backing Arthur, if you want to place a bet), we have been treated to the first pics of the bub, who was born on April 23 in the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital.
A beaming Prince William and Kate Middleton showed off their baby boy to the world, who looked snug as a bug in a white knit blanket with matching bonnet.
A royal blanket
The blanket looks to be the same one as both Prince George and Princess Charlotte were wrapped in when they first emerged from the hospital, meaning Kate and William are either really into matching baby gear, or are a fan of hand-me-downs.
The blanket in question is called the Nottingham Lace Knitted Baby Shawl, made by UK company G.H. Hurt & Son. According to their website, the shawl is “made using the finest and softest merino wool” and “each shawl is lovingly produced at our factory in Nottingham, England, by our artisan skilled and experienced team”.
Pretty fancy stuff. But what else can you expect from the royals?
The blanket retails at £69.95, which works out to be about AUD$128.
A long-standing tradition
It’s not the first time a royal baby has been wrapped in a blanket from G.H. Hurt & Son … in fact, far from it.
The Nottingham-based company has provided the royal family with baby blankets for their newborns since the birth of Prince Charles in 1948. That makes a near-70 year tradition!
For both Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s births, the company released a statement saying it was “delighted” the couple had decided to use their shawl.
While they haven’t issued a new statement for the latest royal addition just yet, you can bet your hat someone is drafting one up right this minute.
They’ll sell like hotcakes
Just as the latest royal baby names traditionally go through the roof, so will any kind of royal paraphernalia. So if you want to impress at an upcoming baby shower, or wrap your new bub in royally-approved wool, we’d suggest you hop on it now.
Or if you want something a little closer to home, you could always opt for a blanket from Launceston’s Waverley Woollen Mills … which was what Australia gifted Princess Charlotte after her birth in 2015.