KATE & CHARLOTTE'S Sweet Bond

From a shared love of fashion to their special mother-daughter adventures, Princess Kate is as close as can be with her only girl!

Prince William had no complaints about his only daughter when she was still in diapers. “Charlotte is very easy,” the Prince of Wales, 41, said of his middle child, “but all the fathers say, ‘Just you wait, when you get to 9, 10, 11, they go crazy.’ I’m looking forward to it... there will be some drama.”

So far, so good. Charlotte’s only 8, yet has shown remarkable poise and maturity as she approaches her tween years, says a royals source. “Charlotte had really been a daddy’s girl, but now that she’s getting older, she leans on her mom more,” reveals the source, who notes that Princess Kate, 41, and her little girl “have a close and very sweet bond, much like Kate and her own mother,” Carole Middleton, 68. “Kate loves being so tight with her daughter and makes sure she’s not only teaching and guiding her, but also ensuring they have a lot of fun together!”

SHE’S A COOL MOM

That includes making time for one-on-one adventures with her mini-me. “They’ll have secret sleepovers at London hotels, just the two of them, and order room service and watch T V,” says the source. “They love going to the theater, too. Kate took Charlotte and her friends to see the ballet Cinderella at the Royal Opera House in London last year, and they all had the best time.”