Online auction site, eBay, released a study this month which showed that people in the UK are heavily influenced by coverage of Prince George, the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

This is based on analysis of the searches which are made on its e-commerce platform which offers safe shopping online to British consumers. There are a number of instances following a public appearance by the young prince in which people flock to the site and try to find items of clothing that match what he and his parents were wearing.

Perhaps the most notable surge in searches was for Cath Kidston tank tops, which grew by a massive 500 per cent after the toddler was captured wearing this type of garment during an official photo shoot.

Unsurprisingly, the flurry of coverage following his birth was accompanied by a similar leap in the number of people looking into what the royals were seen wearing on the TV and in magazines, with the number of searches for polka dot dresses on eBay more than doubling, after Kate wore one on her way out of the hospital where she gave birth to George.

Even Prince William has become something of a fashion influencer, if not quite an icon in the same class as his wife, with a 200 per cent increase in searches for blue shirts on eBay when he, too, was snapped in the days following the birth.

It seems that the young royals are creating a strong and influential brand for themselves, although perhaps a lot is said about their role in society today by the fact that people want to shop online to echo their looks, rather than having a desire to find out about their underlying opinions.