It seems Spice Girl-turned-clothes designer Victoria Beckham is feeling rather emotional as she prepares for her only daughter to enter her teenage years. In fact, the 50-year-old is already dreading the day she and husband David, 48, have an empty nest, a source has told OK!.

Victoria and David married in 1999 and have four children, Brooklyn, 25, Romeo, 21, Cruz, 19, and Harper, who turns 13 in July. And, ahead of Harper’s birthday, a source has claimed that Victoria is having mixed feelings about watching her daughter grow up. “Not only is she the youngest, but she’s the only girl so there’s a lot of people to protect her. David has always been very protective of her, but it’s Victoria feeling even more emotional about her growing up.”

David showed his own mixed feelings about Harper getting older with a recent Instagram post, which he captioned, “My little girl is growing up. MY boys get ready @brooklyn peltzbeckham @romeobeckham @cruzbeckham [boxing glove emoji] @victoriabeckham good job mama.”

Fans flooded the comments section with praise for the father-daughter duo. One fan wrote, “You seem to have a beautiful relationship. Good job Dad,” while another commented, “Like father, like daughter. Cute photo. One thing about you and Victoria, you made four absolutely beautiful children.” David and Victoria are already preparing for the troubles that can come with having a teenager in the home, with the pair planning to enforce some rather strict rules for Harper.

Our source said: “When David posted that picture of him and Harper, it was basically him saying that he knows his daughter is growing up but he is going to be a very protective father and will enlist the help of Harper’s brothers. Neither him or Victoria can believe that she’s going to be 13 in July and she definitely won’t be a baby any more and lots of changes are coming.

Victoria’s youngest will be a teenager soon
“They’ve really noticed a difference in Harper over the past few months and she’s started taking more of an interest in her appearance. I think she’s going to have a strict curfew and will have to be in constant contact with them.”

When it comes to her children, Victoria is particularly sensitive about watching her only daughter grow up. “She was so desperate for a baby girl and when Harper arrived, Victoria finally felt complete,” claimed the source.

“But there was a big part of her that wanted Harper to have a sister and there were points she and David had talked about it. But it never happened and she really misses the kids being young. And Harper turning 13 just makes her feel very emotional – in five years all her children will be adults and it scares her. So she just wants to keep Harper as young as possible for as long as she can.”

Harper is a little fashionista, just like her mum! -Credit:GC Images
With her oldest child Brooklyn having married and relocated to America, it’s no wonder that Victoria wants to keep daughter Harper as close as she can.

The couple have opened up previously on how they have always abided by some strict rules to make sure their kids are happy and healthy – principally that good manners and showing respect are non-negotiable. “Me and Victoria were brought up with strong discipline by our parents and to have respect for people and our boys have definitely got that,” said David previously.

“They’ve been saying their pleases and thank-yous since they were two or three years old. They’re very polite boys. “That’s one of the first questions that we ask when we go for meetings at school is about their manners and it’s one of the first things their teachers say – that they’ve got impeccable manners.”

Harper is a real daddy’s girl – and David reguarly posts pics on his social media with her -Credit:Instagram
Similarly, Victoria once told Good Morning Britain, “We’ve always been strict parents. It was very important to me and David that our kids had manners. And they won’t be these children that stay at home and don’t do anything. They’ll definitely work.”

Meanwhile, as Victoria and David are preparing to become empty-nesters within the next decade, life couldn’t be any more different for their close friends Gordon and Tana Ramsay, who welcomed their sixth child last year – at ages 57 and 49 respectively. Like the Beckhams, the Ramsays’ oldest children are now in their twenties, but having had two more in recent years, it’ll be a long time before they have a child-free home.

The source said that while Victoria is very happy with the freedom that comes with her children growing up and being more independent, the idea of her friend Tana having younger kids does make her feel nostalgic for the time when her own were little.

A source told OK! that Tana Ramsay’s latest arrival has Victoria feeling ‘nostalgic’ about the baby days -Credit:Instagram
They said, “When Tana Ramsay had her youngest two over the age of 40, Vic always did wonder if they should have had one more. Although she loves the extra freedom they have, she does get pangs of envy seeing Tana with her two younger kids.”