Becks, Goldenballs and now officially Sir David, football star David Beckham has received his knighthood from the King – and told Sky News he cried when he found out about the honour.
After years in the running following his OBE in 2003, the former England captain and Manchester United star has now been knighted for his services to sport and charity at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Sir David‘s wife Victoria, the Spice Girl turned fashion designer and now Lady Victoria, joined him at the event – and of course, designed his suit. The couple married in 1999 and have four children together, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.
Sir David Beckham knighted by the King
Speaking to Sky News after being knighted by the King, he said it was “such a big moment” for him and his family.
“I cried when I first found out, and possibly for a few months after it as well,” he said. “This week has been really emotional… I’ve not been nervous, I’ve just been emotional.”
Sir David was also joined by his parents Ted and Sandra Beckham. Pictures: PA
Asked how he now likes to be referred to at home, Sir David joked: “I’m not insisting, [but] if they would like to call me Sir Dad or Sir Son, they can. But no, it’s going to take some getting used to people saying it. It’s just a huge honour.”
A “huge royalist”, Sir David, 50, was last year named an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, an educational charity established by Charles in 1990.
“I’m very proud,” he said of his knighthood. “You know, I grew up in a very humble background in the East End of London, always wanting to be a professional footballer. And then I’m stood here at Windsor Castle with the most important monarchy in the world and, getting a knighthood, so it doesn’t get much better.”
England caps and Man U trophies
The football star, who grew up in northeast London, earned 115 caps playing for England, with 59 of those as captain, and scored 17 goals for his country. He played in three World Cups, in 1998, 2002 and 2006, and two Euros, in 2000 and 2004.
His England career was marked by intense scrutiny with the player enduring harsh criticism at times – especially after his red card during the 1998 World Cup game versus Argentina – but also praise, like after his performance against Greece in 2001, enabling England to reach the finals in 2002.
He made his Premier League debut for Manchester United in 1995 and was part of the team that earned a dramatic Champions League final victory in 1999 – when they beat Bayern Munich with two nail-biting late goals.
It was the year they famously won the treble, also taking home the Premier League and FA Cup silverware.
During his time with the club, Sir David scored 85 goals and collected honours including six Premier League titles and two FA Cups, before going on to play for clubs including Real Madrid, AC Milan, LA Galaxy, and Paris Saint-Germain.
He retired from the sport in 2013.
Bad luck and possibly a victim of his own success – but now, finally, Beckham becomes Sir David
For Sir David, waiting for his knighthood has been more stressful than any England penalty shoot-out.
Speaking to me in the grounds of Windsor Castle, he didn’t mind admitting he’d cried several times since finding out. The emotions are understandably raw given his working class roots and how long it’s taken him to get here.
Not only was Sir David scuppered by a run of bad luck, arguably he was also a victim of his own success. He has always been a more complicated candidate than most, with his football career intertwined with celebrity branding and tabloid culture – while the honours system has always been deeply rooted in the ideal of understatement, a belief that true merit should be quietly earned and modestly displayed.
From fashion lines to brand deals, with his success unapologetically visible, for some traditionalists he’s always been a little too self-publicising to fit comfortably into that knighthood mould.
There was arguably some cultural lag in the honours system catching up with how modern celebrity works. But in reality, the committee probably would have honoured him sooner were it not for a series of missteps Sir David had to endure – from finding himself wrongly named (along with other celebrities) by HMRC in what it alleged was a tax avoidance scheme, which was later thrown out by the supreme court, to the embarrassment of private emails being widely reported in the press. These were apparently leaked and doctored by Russian hackers, in which he allegedly called the Honours Committee “unappreciative”. Neither of these things helped.
So it might have taken a little extra time for Sir David to get here, but few would question his suitability for the honour given his ongoing charitable work and his consistency in promoting Britain.
Sir David might have had a nightmare wait on his way to knighthood – but now finally, that wait is over.
Alongside his football career, he is also known for his charity work, including serving as a goodwill ambassador for humanitarian aid organisation UNICEF since 2005.
Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sir Kazuo Ishiguro and West End performer Dame Elaine Paige were also among the stars recognised at the investiture ceremony.
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Japanese-born author Sir Kazuo, who moved to the UK as a child and is known for 2005’s Never Let Me Go and 1989’s The Remains Of The Day, for which he won the Man Booker Prize, was made a Companion of Honour.
Dame Elaine, who became an overnight star thanks to her portrayal of Eva Peron in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Evita, and also starred in musicals including Cats and Sunset Boulevard, was given her damehood for services to music and charity.
