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Prince William and Kate Middleton have three adorable children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The couple welcomed their third child, Louis, in spring 2018. And though he’s just as adorable as anyone had imagined, he’s not worth quite as much as his siblings — and probably never will be. But it isn’t necessarily because he’s further from the throne.

Kate Middleton and Prince Louis
Kate Middleton and Prince Louis | Kensington Palace via Instagram

Prince George and Princess Charlotte are worth $3.6 and $5 billion, respectively

In terms of “worth,” George and Charlotte have brought billions of dollars to the British economy. When George, the first child of Will and Kate, was born, he instantly generated money for the economy. His birth sparked a spending spree among the British for several reasons. George was a reason to celebrate, so people might have spent in his honor. Plus, his outfits, toys, and more were looked at as something to be emulated, which caused British parents to purchase similar items for their children.

Charlotte had even more of an effect on the economy than her brother, and experts suspect it’s because she is a girl. It was dubbed the “Charlotte effect” since fashion brands were often tied to the princess, which upped spending on clothing and accessories choices among British women. This is likely why Charlotte is worth more to the British economy than her big brother.

Louis is worth less simply because his birth wasn’t as exciting

Will and Kate’s first two children took all the excitement, since one was born a prince and one was born a princess. The public had a chance to react to George and Charlotte, which meant regardless of whether Louis was a prince or princess, his birth essentially would have been no more exciting than his brother’s or sister’s births. By the time Louis was born, Will and Kate already had one of each, so the excitement that came with George and Charlotte’s births wasn’t present with Louis’. Had Will and Kate had two boys first, and had Charlotte been born third, that likely wouldn’t be the case — Charlotte would probably still be worth more to the economy than her brothers. But as is the stereotype with third children, it had been done before, and therefore Louis’ birth didn’t cause people to celebrate the way they did when George was born or spend the way they did when Charlotte arrived.

Louis will likely never be worth as much as George or Charlotte

Since Louis is ultimately the third child, he will likely never be worth as much as his siblings. According to Time, Louis only generated between $70 million and $125 million during the first few weeks of his life. Yes, that’s an unbelievable amount of money, but not for a prince. Louis, adorable as he may be, isn’t as important (from a royal perspective) as his brother and sister. People didn’t obsess over his birth the way they did the first prince and princess. Plus, Louis being so far from the throne is all the more reason he’ll never generate quite the same income for Britain as his siblings.

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