system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are there so many Saudi Princes? And how many are there?

It seems every time you open the news, there is another story about a Saudi Prince. How can there be so many? The British have something 6 or so. It seems there are hundreds in Saudi Arabia. Am I mistaken?
gpt
There are 15,000 members of the royal family in Saudi Arabia, all princes/princesses or better. Part of this is just due to the fact that Saudi Arabia has practiced, and still practices, polygamy. The founder of modern Saudi Arabia had at roughly 100 children, 45 of them sons. His youngest was born **52 years** after his firstborn.

Picking three random sons (the first three kings after Ibn Saud): Saud, Faisal, and Khalid. Saud had 115 children, Faisal 19, Khalid has 9. The "norm" for Ibn Saud's sons and grandsons is closer to Faisal and Khalid than Saud, especially now that the law states a man can have no more than 4 wives, but that's still wayyyyy more than the British royal family.