SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

British RoyalsPrince & Princess of Wales

Duchess of Cambridge named year’s top royal influencer

The Duchess of Cambridge has topped a recent ranking of fashionable royal influencers, according to the spending habits of eBay users.

“We always see an uptick in searches around landmark royal events and 2018 was a bumper year for small businesses on eBay, with both the birth of Prince Louis and Meghan and Harry’s wedding driving purchases across the nation,” says eBay UK’s vice president Rob Hattrell.

eBay indicated that when Kate announced her third pregnancy last year, there was a spike in searches for maternity clothes – searches tripled because of the announcement – and once Prince Louis was born and Kate stepped out of the Lindo Wing in a red Jenny Packham dress, searches for Packham designs doubled.

Kate’s go-to designers, Jenny Packham, Alexander McQueen, and Seraphine all saw a 20% increase in searches this year, and sometimes saw 43 searches an hour for their products.

The Duchess of Sussex came in second, and Hattrell says that after her wedding dress was revealed to be a Givenchy production, searches increased 60% for the fashion house.

“While Meghan was clearly the focus of the fashion pages this year, Kate’s distinctive style has long been a hit with shoppers on eBay since her wedding in 2011,” says Hattrell.

Searches for Stella McCartney, the designer behind her reception dress, and Carolina Herrera, the designer behind her first Trooping the Colour dress, also increased after Meghan wore their clothing.

Meghan may not have topped the royal style ranking, but 14,000 commemorative trinkets related to her wedding were sold through eBay, and a one-of-a-kind £7,300 Meghan and Harry Pez dispenser was sold to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation.

Princess Charlotte came in third on eBay’s report – the little floral crown she wore to her aunt and uncle’s wedding in May saw a 60% uptick in searches for floral crowns. Prince George came in fourth, and the Queen came in fifth place.

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS will publish in Fall 2024.