Princess Charlotte poses on Kensington Palace steps before her first day of preschool

PROUD mum — and keen photographer — Kate Middleton has marked her daughter’s first day of preschool with two ridiculously cute snaps.

PRINCESS Charlotte has started nursery school, with her mother Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge photographing her beaming as she headed off to school on a freezing London winter’s day.

The little princess, who is still four months shy of her third birthday, will attend full-time at Willcocks Nursery School, just a few hundred metres down the road from Kensington Palace, where the young royals live.

Princess Charlotte was photographed by her mum, Catherine. Picture: Duchess of Cambridge via AP

A keen photographer, Catherine photographed the adorable little girl before she headed off to school, dressed in a burgundy coat, shoes and matching hair ribbon, and warm grey tights.

Fashion bloggers immediately began investigating Princess Charlotte’s outfit and discovered the coat was a Razorbil coat by Chelsea-based Amaia Kids, retailing on-line for A$207.

She had a little backpack on her back, and was beaming with excitement, showing none of the nerves that her older brother, Prince George, 4, displayed when he arrived for his first day of primary school last year.

Prince George appeared slightly more uncertain when he arrived for his first day of school in 2017. Picture: AFP/Richard Pohle

Willcocks Nursery School is a sought-after preschool for London’s elite, with a lengthy waiting list. It encourages “high standards, excellence and good manners’’ and has an all-female teaching staff.

Princess Charlotte is adorable in the photos taken by her proud mum. Picture: Duchess of Cambridge via AP

Catherine and her husband Prince William, who is second in line to the throne, now have both their young children at school, but are expecting their third child in April.

They live in an apartment at Kensington Palace in central London, while William’s young brother Prince Harry and his fiancee, American actor Meghan Markle, live next door in a cottage on the palace estate.

Prince William and Kate, with George and Charlotte, are expecting their third child in April. Picture: AFP/Kensington Palace/Chris Jackson