David Beckham has finally been awarded a prestigious honour from King Charles in his upcoming Birthday Honours list next week, which will see him become a Sir
David Beckham had dreamed of being knighted, and it’s finally becoming a reality. Becks had a glimmer of hope last year when he was announced as an ambassador to the King’s Foundation, with insiders suggesting it might bolster his knighthood prospects. However, 2024 saw him miss out on the distinguished title again. But his luck appeared to change this year, with reports claiming that he’ll be knighted as early as next week.
The former footballer has a long-standing relationship with His Majesty, who last month revealed he’d sent him a gift for his 50th birthday. While attending the Chelsea Flower Show, Beckham was seen sporting a rose as a buttonhole, and it has since emerged that the flower has a very royal connection.
The King, 76, was heard asking David if he had received the recent gift for his birthday after they met on an official line-up. “You got it, didn’t you?” the Monarch asked. David responded: “It was incredible, thank you. It was very kind.”
Just moments later, Queen Camilla met Beckham and commented: “Nice to see you again, glad you got the roses.” The footballer told Her Majesty that he had a “perfect” but “busy weekend,” adding it was “a lot of fun.” Beckham’s rose, a King’s Rose was named in honour of the King who has never shied away from discussing his love for horticulture.
An incendiary book released last summer targeting his financial dealings might have thwarted his recent efforts. Authored by Tom Bower, it labelled Beckham “money obsessed” and reported on his strategies for legally reducing his tax obligations in the UK.
Beckham’s aspirations for a knighthood were previously dampened in 2014 following HMRC’s reservations. Now 50, Beckham, who also played a pivotal role in England’s 2018 World Cup bid, faced backlash for accepting the ambassadorship at the Qatar World Cup in 2022. Allegedly raking in £150 million from a decade-long partnership, LGBTQ+ groups criticised him sharply due to Qatar’s oppressive laws against same-sex relationships.
His team has countered, arguing that Beckham’s intent was to harness the unifying power of sport as a ‘force for good. ‘ His involvement irked comedian Joe Lycett, who called out Beckham for double standards before theatrically shredding a topless Beckham photo from Attitude, a gay lifestyle magazine.
The saga culminated with Lycett feigning the destruction of £10,000 after Beckham decided not to withdraw from the deal. Weeks after the comedian called Beckham’s defence a ‘cop out’, the Inter Miami owner was once again overlooked for a coveted invitation to Buckingham Palace.
In a prior incident, a snub reportedly triggered an exchange of heated emails between Beckham and his long-standing PR man Simon Oliveira, which were claimed to have surfaced in 2017. Having led initiatives like the London Olympics and dedicating much time to charitable activities with organisations like UNICEF, many predicted the ex-footballer would receive a knighthood in 2014.
Speculation was rife that his association with a film finance initiative deemed by HMRC as tax avoidance had thrown up a ‘red flag’, disrupting his opportunity for the honour.
There was no indication of misconduct from those who invested in the Ingenious Media scheme. Reportedly, Beckham reassured Oliveira in leaked emails, maintaining “everything is above board.” Subsequently, in the year following, he contributed £12.7 million in taxes as reported by the Sunday Times Tax List, landing him and his wife Victoria in the 49th spot among the UK’s top 50 taxpayers.
Yet, Beckham’s name was notably absent from the 2014 honours list, leading to the publication on the Football Leaks website – described as the sport’s parallel to Wikileaks. In these alleged communications, David purportedly vented his fury at the perceived oversight, labelling the committee a ‘bunch of c***s’ and slamming the honours system as a “f**king joke”.
He allegedly expressed his frustration, saying: “I expected nothing less… Who decides on the honours? It’s a disgrace to be honest and if I was American I would of [sic] got something like this 10 years ago… It’s p***ed me off those old unappreciative c***s.”
Furthermore, he is reported to have said brusquely: “Unless it’s a knighthood f**k off”. Beckham also reportedly questioned the accolade given to Katherine Jenkins, alluding to her OBE by stating she was awarded the honour for “singing at the rugby”.
In the wake of these comments, Katherine Jenkins’ camp had their say, with her spokesperson indicating the singer received her honour for her services to music and her extensive charity work. Her spokesperson stated that she’d “courageously publicly admitted” experimenting with drugs in her formative years.
Her manager, Professor Jonathan Shalit, further defended Jenkins to The Sun, declaring: “I say Katherine was awarded an OBE for her services to music and charity.”
Beckham, who has been a dedicated Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since 2003 and initiated his 7 fund for the charity in 2015, found himself at the centre of an email controversy. A spokesperson for UNICEF responded to the leaked emails by stating: “David has given significant funds personally.”
At the time, Beckham’s representative slammed the reports, accusing them of being misleading and based on manipulated content, as they told the Daily Mail: “This story is based on outdated material taken out of context from hacked and doctored private emails from a third-party server and gives a deliberately inaccurate picture.”
A close pal of Beckham spoke to The Mirror about the incident, revealing that although Beckham regretted the messages, they were sent “in the heat of the moment”. The friend elaborated, “Genuinely, he wasn’t as vitriolic as that, but you do say some things in private and in the heat of the moment,” adding that Beckham feels he has contributed greatly to his country.
They continued, “To be honest, he does feel that he has given so much to his country. And sometimes you say things in private that anyone would say and you don’t really mean it. While he was frustrated in those emails, he was over it the moment he sent them. Getting the knighthood is not what his work is about. He doesn’t care if he gets a knighthood or not.”
