LONDON (Reuters) – From a $112,000 (86,012 pounds) diamond-and-gold dummy to a $1,320 Gucci baby tracksuit, you can never be too young to enjoy a little luxury.
As Britains Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan Markle prepare to welcome their first child, there is no shortage of high end brands they can turn to for nursery furniture, baby clothing and plenty of toys.
Personalised cots, cashmere cardigans and traditional rocking horses are among luxury items on offer for youngsters, with an array of brands seeking to capitalise on affluent parents demand for such costly items.
“Its grown into a huge market. Its been hugely helped by the royals because it gives a lot of these brands an international platform,” said Kate Freud, editor at large of luxury parenting magazines Baby and Little London.
“You can be looking at anything from a simple cotton baby grow thats 90 pounds ($117) … to a Burberry changing bag which is 850 pounds, and beyond. Some of the prices are really eye-watering but parents are prepared to pay it.”
Among those providing luxury baby products is Spanish company Suommo whose Dodo diamond and pure gold dummy is priced at 100,000 euros (86,196.7 pounds). An 18-carat gold plated cot costs 60,000 euros. Other firms offer bespoke mattresses, gold high chairs or silver rattles.
Harry and Meghan, known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have revealed little during the pregnancy. Meghan told well-wishers in January she was six months pregnant but the couple did not know the babys gender.
British media have reported they have picked neutral colours for the nursery at their new Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor and published a picture of a car with pram maker iCandys logo arriving at their gates.
Harrys cousin Zara Phillips is an ambassador for iCandy, whose pushchairs sell for up to 1,500 pounds ($1,956).
BABY FASHION
Like his or her cousins – Prince Williams children George, Charlotte and Louis – baby Sussex will likely be an influencer.
When the trio have been photographed wearing childrenswear brands like Rachel Riley, Pepa & Company and Amaia, many parents have swiftly shopped the same looks.
“I can imagine (Meghan) mixing the traditional brands with a more contemporary spin,” Freud said.
“Whatever she ends up doing, its going to be a sellout.”
The UK childrenswear market is expected to have grown 19 percent to 6.86 billion pounds in 2018 from 2013, according to a report by market research firm Mintel, which found over a third of parents think branded clothes were worth paying more for.
At London childrens boutique Marie Chantal, embroidered baby grows, silk chiffon dresses and cashmere knits are on offer, with prices reaching up to 350 pounds.
“We have royal customers, VIP and celebrity customers from around the globe,” commercial manager ErikRead More
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