Arise, Sir Goldenballs. Next week, David Beckham will finally become Sir David in the King’s birthday honours, which in turn will mean that his wife will become Lady Victoria Beckham. Once, when she was best known for being the pop songstress Posh Spice – and he was most famous for being an unusually petulant Manchester United footballer – this would have seemed like a ridiculous state of affairs; the monarchy pandering to celebrity at its most naked and obvious. It may be a sign of how Britain, rather than the Beckhams, has changed over the intervening decades that the only observation that many might have about the award is why it has taken so long to be bestowed.
Despite his fame, wealth and good looks, there has always been a faint ridiculousness to him
Beckham has certainly put the hours in. Not since Mohamed al-Fayed’s (doomed) attempts to obtain a British passport has anyone so assiduously cultivated a friendship with the royal family in order to achieve their desires. While al-Fayed angrily distanced himself from the royals after the death of his son and Princess Diana, Beckham has been almost inseparable from the King over the past couple of years. His first public demonstration of monarchical feeling came in 2022, when he was spotted queuing to pay tribute to the late Queen, and since then he has been a consistent, even dogged proponent of all things royal.
Beckham is a high-profile supporter of the King’s Foundation, the monarch’s own charity, and has been named an ambassador for it. Beckham is also a frequent guest at banquets and soirees at Charles’s homes; just last month, he released a statement saying that:
It was inspiring to hear from the King about the work of His Majesty’s foundation during my recent visit to Highgrove Gardens – and compare beekeeping tips.
There is a clear rapport between the footballer and monarch that can be seen in their appearances together – Buckingham Palace has let it be known that they have ‘become friends’ – so the suggested announcement of the award is not a surprise.
The only real wonder is that it has taken well over a decade for Beckham to be knighted. However, he has not always been his own greatest advocate. Despite his fame, wealth and good looks, there has always been a faint ridiculousness to him, as if Frank Spencer had inhabited the body of Brad Pitt. He was first considered for a KBE in 2011, but his complex tax affairs – while legal – were thought to be not quite the thing, and then his leaked, angry remarks about Katherine Jenkins, in which he suggested that she had received her OBE ‘[for] singing at the rugby and going to see the troops’ and called it a ‘fucking joke’ did not help either his reputation or his cause. One can only imagine that the twice-annual announcement of knighthoods may have been known as Passover in Beckingham Palace.
Now he has finally, belatedly, been given what many millions of football fans would see as his due. It will come as a blessed relief amidst rumoured personal troubles involving his eldest son Brooklyn, from whom it is suggested his father has become estranged. The supposed reasons for this, involving Instagram-led feuds and Brooklyn supposedly thinking that he is not sufficiently respected by his famous father, need not concern us.
But amidst the celebrations, the soon-to-be Sir David may pause at the news that his son has been taken up by the other branch of the British royal family. It has been reported that:
Harry and Meghan were very empathetic and very kind to them both. Harry was fully aware of the situation and offered Brooklyn his unwavering support as someone who has been through similar.
Even at what should be the zenith of his personal life, Beckham, clearly a supporter of the King rather than his own estranged younger son, will find that the side that he has so publicly taken will not come without consequences. Should Brooklyn be persuaded to take up residence in Montecito, then this saga might yet be a case of history repeating itself in the strangest of ways.
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