Kate Middleton's "luxury" birth for her third child, a prince who is now fifth in line to the throne, was cheaper than the average delivery in the U.S.
The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her new baby boy on Monday at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, where the price tag for a one-night stay in a private room with an ensuite begins at $8,200—while a deluxe package costs from $8,745.
The wing boasts an ensuite, refrigerators, nutritious meals and even a wine list from which to pick a celebratory bottle of bubbly to toast the arrival of a new-born.
"We also offer a range of optional extras, including our popular afternoon tea service, which is a welcome treat to celebrate your new arrival," the brochure adds.
One former patient of the Lindo Wing described the experience to British newspaper the Daily Mail as being like a hotel.
"While the Lindo Wing was a functional hospital, it was a little bit like a hotel in terms of the service, so you had really fancy toiletries that they provided you with, the quality of the food that you got was fantastic," Katherine Filkins, 38, told the newspaper.
"There was a wine list, you could have champagne if you wanted and right after the birth they bring you a delicious afternoon tea for you and your family," she added.
But although the hospital wing is surely among the most luxurious places to give birth in the U.K., the price tag is lower than the average cost of having a baby in America, Market Watch revealed.
Indeed, The Guardian reported earlier this year that the U.S. is now the most expensive country in the world to have a baby. The average vaginal birth in America cost $10,800 according to data collected in 2015, The Economist reported.
And including care before and after childbirth, the cost of having a baby in the U.S. creeps up to $30,000, with insurers covering the majority of the costs and the average person paying around $3,000 of the bill themselves.
However, the costs of giving birth in the U.S. rise dramatically for a caesarean section, with Truven Health Analytics in 2015 estimating the cost at around $50,000 for the operation.
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