Royal Baby Souvenirs: Blue Or Pink?

British souvenir makers are facing a real dilemma over the imminent birth of the royal baby. Once the name and gender of the baby are known, production of souvenirs will move into high gear.

Their problem is that the amount of preparation they can do in advance is limited.

One maker of fine bone china has thousands of orders for souvenir mugs but can’t finish them until the baby’s name is known.

Sophie Allport, whose company is producing the mugs, says that she has prepared designs in both blue and pink, but that’s as much as she can do in advance. They have 10,000 mugs ready. Once they know the name, they’ll just add it and put the mugs into special kilns for firing and glazing.

So what are the possibilities? Well, the British royal family tend to follow tradition, and, in the past, have opted for names like George, Elizabeth, Charles, and Victoria

Will Kate and William follow this tradition, or will they be brave enough to break the mold (so to speak)?

Not all manufacturers are following the blue/pink theme. For most items, that is simply impossible. So they have gone for ‘gender-neutral” products.

Of course, the vast majority of the royal baby memorabilia won’t be British made!

Factories in China have been working flat out, printing the Union Jack on anything and everything.

A royal baby is big business, not only for the souvenir industry, but it’s also a boon for tour operators. The flocks of tourists around Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle will snap up anything and everything that has a royal looking connection,

Kimberley Sheriden,21, an overseas student on holiday said: “Something associated with the royal baby would be the perfect souvenir from our time here. She added: “We were really excited when we found out we’d be here when the royal baby arrives, so a royal baby souvenir would be really cool.”

If nothing else, the British media are now in the grip of “royal baby” fever.

It will be hard to find any other stories on the front pages by Sunday.