What to give the man who seems to have everything for Christmas? Well, there is one thing which has thus far evaded David Beckham, despite being on his list year after year. It is of course, a spot on the New Year’s Honours list — or, more specifically, a knighthood.
By now, it has become something of a national running joke that the 49-year-old former England captain has had a years-long campaign for his place amongst the knights of the realm. Brand Beckham has long been a hyper-public supporter of the monarchy, turning up to a host of royal events and famously queuing for 13 hours to pay his respects after the Queen’s death in 2022.
And then, in 2013, a series of expletive-filled emails from Beckham were leaked, which slammed the Honours Committee which rejected him, as a bunch of "unappreciative c***s."
He was alleged to have complained: “It’s a disgrace to be honest and if I was American I would of got something like this 10 years ago.” While Beckham dismissed the messages at the time as inaccurate and misleading, to many it seemed as though he had thrown away his shot at what he wanted most: being knighted.
However now, it seems that the tide has turned. Rumours are swirling that, with his growing closeness to King Charles III and Prince William, it looks as though this could be the year for Becks. He and his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria were surprise guests at a lavish state banquet on Tuesday night in honour of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the first of his three wives, Sheikha Jawaher. Beckham, who it’s understood was invited to the glittering dinner because of his role as an ambassador for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, was in attendance alongside King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William.
Beckham has a long-standing connection to the Gulf state, having signed with Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain in 2013. Amongst the other 170 guests at the banquet in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace were Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who Beckham was seated next to.
He was described in royal circles as “the perfect guest” for the state occasion, according to the Mirror, and one source told the paper: “It would appear now more than any time previously that David Beckham is in prime position for a knighthood.”
It is one of a host of royal shindigs that Beckham has crammed into his calendar this year. From helicopter launches to chats about beekeeping, he has put his Brand Beckham seal of approval on five royal events in the last 12 months alone. In February he attended the Baftas with Prince William, and in May he had tea with the King in Highgrove’s gardens, where the pair discussed beekeeping. The following month, the King turned to Beckham to help him rebuild the reputation of his charity the King’s Foundation, after a cash-for-honours scandal — Beckham visited St James’ Palace and became an official ambassador. And in October he visited RAF Northolt with William for the arrival of two new air ambulance helicopters.
So, has the time finally come for Beckham? Former royal butler Paul Burrell thinks so. “David Beckham is everywhere. He's sponsoring and commercialising himself,” he told The Express. “He's obviously been fast tracked for a knighthood, but not just yet and they're keeping him just dangling for a while.
“I think he is an excellent ambassador, not only for charitable foundations, but for our country. I think he's shown his worth, and I'm expecting it. Of course it's going to happen. The question is, when,” Burrell added.
From making his whole family stand up when the national anthem was played on television to those disastrous emails, here is a look back at the footballer’s storied campaign for that elusive knighthood.
‘A huge royalist’: queuing for the Queen
According to Beckham, it was his grandparents Joseph and Margaret’s love of the monarchy which inspired him “to be a huge royalist and a fan of the royal family”. A friend of David’s said the entire family had to stand up when the national anthem was played on television.
In 2003, when Beckham was awarded an OBE, he proudly took his grandparents with him to Buckingham Palace to collect the honour.
He had a particular fondness for the late Queen Elizabeth II. As well as collecting his OBE, in 2018, Beckham was invited to Queen Elizabeth’s Young Leaders event, and has described himself as “so lucky …to have a few moments like that in my life, to be around Her Majesty”.
Most famous of all, though, was Beckham’s stoic 13-hour shift in the queue to to pay his respects after the Queen’s death in 2022. “We have been lucky as a nation to have had someone who has led us the way Her Majesty has led us,” he told reporters at the time. He was seen wiping away tears in front of her coffin at Westminster Hall.
“We can all see with the love that has been shown how special she is, and how special she was, and the legacy that she leaves behind,” he said. "It's a sad day, but it's a day for us to remember the incredible legacy that she's left.” He added that wearing “the Three Lion shirts” and singing God Save The Queen was “something that meant so much to us.”
‘They’re very easy to get along with’: his growing friendship with Wills and Kate
Some have viewed Beckham’s growing closeness with Prince William as the potential catalyst for his knighthood.
The Beckhams have been connected to Princes William and Harry for years, and attended both their weddings. “They’re very easy to get along with. They love their sport. William loves Aston Villa, unfortunately, which obviously I give him a bit of stick about,” Beckham said in a 2012 interview. “I have a huge amount of respect for William and Harry because of what they've been through from a very young age. They're a credit obviously to their mum and everyone in the royal family”.
In October, Beckham appeared alongside the Prince of Wales, who is patron of the Football Association, at RAF Northolt to unveil two new helicopters for the London Air Ambulance (Beckham had also helped to raise funds for the choppers).
The pair were seen greeting each other with easy familiarity. “I’m an East End boy, so every time we saw [the air ambulances] in the air it made us very proud,” Beckham said. “As soon as I was asked to be involved by Prince William it was something I was very honoured [to do] in all honesty,” he continued, speaking of the decades of “incredible work that the pilots and the medics do” and “the millions of lives they've saved” adding that it was something he was “very proud to be invited to be part of”.
The footballer has also helped William with his United for Wildlife campaign, and even flew to Boston in 2022 to attend William’s environmental Earthshot Prize ceremony, at which they were spotted chatting happily.
In 2020, David took part in a group video call with Prince William and other sports stars for the royal’s mental health Heads Up campaign. That summer, he and his son Romeo joined William in the royal box to watch England vs Germany. Prince William and Princess Kate were even invited to Beckham’s son Brooklyn's wedding in 2022, though they did not attend.
A souring relationship with Meghan and Harry
While the Beckhams were close with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the relationship between the foursome is alleged to have soured since Harry and Meghan parted ways with the royal family.
The Beckhams attended the pair’s wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018, and the two men became close friends when Beckham was invited to be the Invictus Games’ official ambassador, of which The Duke Of Sussex is a founder.
But rumours of a feud have emerged in the last couple of years, after it was revealed that Meghan allegedly believed that Victoria was responsible for leaking stories about her to the press.
In 2021 source told The Sun that “when Meghan moved to London, Victoria shared a whole bunch of beauty tips, but not long after, some of these emerged in print and Meghan was furious.”
The accusations were said to have come up during a frosty phone call between David Beckham and the Duke, and sources told several media outlets the friendship is effectively over. One insider told the Mail On Sunday that “any making up now is so unlikely.”
The Sun's insider said that “Harry is very protective of Meghan and decided to deal with the matter head-on by directly contacting his good pal David. Harry was very polite, but obviously it was a pretty awkward exchange and David was mortified."
Reputation laundering for the King’s Foundation
While Beckham has putting in a shift in a bid for the monarchy’s affection, the relationship also goes two ways. In June this year, King Charles called on Beckham to help him rebuild the reputation of his main charitable foundation after a cash-for-honours scandal.
Beckham met the monarch at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire last month, after which it was announced that he was to become an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, (formerly the Prince’s Foundation). He was given a personal tour, and said he was looking forward to exploring a newly discovered shared interest with the monarch in nature and the British countryside.
The foundation, which provides educational programs to up to 15,000 people annually to foster sustainable communities, has faced controversy over allegations of "cash for access." Claims surfaced that the then-chief executive, Michael Fawcett, had offered to help Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz obtain a knighthood and UK citizenship in exchange for donations. Clarence House stated at the time that the Prince of Wales had “no knowledge” of the allegations, and Mahfouz denied any wrongdoing. The charity launched an inquiry in 2021, and the Metropolitan Police investigated in 2022. Last year, it announced no further action would be taken.
The pair also swapped beekeeping tips, according to Beckham. To Charles' surprise and delight, the former England captain presented him with a jar of homemade honey from his Cotswolds estate. “I’ll have to swap it with the one that I [make],” responded the King, a keen beekeeper himself.
A photo of the King giving Beckham the tour now sits prominently on the ex-footballer’s website under the philanthropy section.
We’ll have to wait until the new year to see whether it’s enough to have sealed the deal for his knighthood.
