Will the Duke and Duchess of Sussex opt for Jellycat?

LONDON - Oct. 26, 2018 - PRLog -- Back in 2015 Jellycat had some exceptional good luck, a picture appeared of Princess Charlotte laughing and giggling with a Jellycat Fuddlewuddle Puppy. The picture went viral and the story made world news with even the Huffington Post releasing this post:

Princess Charlotte's Fuddlewuddle Soft Toy Sells Out In Various Outlets After Being Pictured In Royal Photos

With brothers William and Thomas Gatacre, who founded Jellycat, confirming the news that it was in fact a Jellycat Fuddlewuddle Puppy, the puppy promptly sold out everywhere.

So, the question is, with the latest royal pregnancy, 'Will Jellycat be the chosen soft toy brand or will the honour fall to someone else?'

Jellycat have established themselves as world leaders in the design of unique yet quirky soft toys and baby safe products so it would be logical for the Royal family, who are renowned as supporters of British business, to promote (albeit casually) great British design and enterprise but could the Brexit situation politically muddy the waters? Maybe Moulin Roty the quality French soft toy design company could get the nod, outwardly showing that we are still united with Europe.

As it turns out, even the choosing of something as innocuous as a soft toy, can have far reaching effects for business.

Some people bemoan the Royal family as being virtual pariahs, but the truth appears to be that they, as a cumulative force, bring in a vast amount of revenue to offset the cost of their upkeep.

On the one side, according to Vanity Fair, 'The royal family cost each British taxpayer 69 pence in 2018'

And on the other side 'Visit Britain' estimates tourism linked to royal residences adds up to 2.7 million visitors a year.

The consultancy 'Brand Finance' estimated in 2017 that the monarchy's annual contribution to the UK economy to be around £1.8bn a year, drawing in an additional £550m of tourism revenues a year, and an increase in trade, from the Royal Family acting as ambassadors, worth £150m a year.

Trying to put a number on the exact contribution the Royal Family make is tantamount to impossible, for example the Queens 90^th birthday, where street parties and celebrations were seen throughout the land, meant more spending in the high street on food, balloons, folding tables, ice, disposable plates and cups, petrol, diesel, taxi companies, bunting, alcohol, fruit, pastry mix…the list goes on.

The huge security bills for Royal engagements, especially weddings, according to the Daily Express when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married 'The cost of security is estimated to have cost as much as £30 million'  but that money is not sat in a vault doing nothing, a portion of it goes to the police and special forces operatives who will use the extra money for holidays, new homes, house extensions, additional little luxuries, so the money is put back into the economy.

The bottom line seems to be that the Royal Family definitely do make a considerable difference in the larger and smaller picture, and companies like Jellycat have greatly increased revenue figures to suggest that the slightest association with the Royal family can make very large sums of money indeed.

So, back to the original question, 'Will Jellycat benefit again from the next Royal birth? If so which soft toy would it be? Maybe another Fuddlewuddle or could it be one of the long-standing Bashful Bunnies?

Someone could make an awful lot of money by guessing right!