LONDON — British soccer legend David Beckham, a sporting icon and one of the world’s most recognizable faces, has received a knighthood from King Charles III for services to sport and charity, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
The award, the highest Britain’s antiquated honors system can bestow, seems inevitable given Beckham’s success as a player and his contribution to the country’s culture. For years, Britons have wondered how he has not already been elevated to Sir David.
He gets the “gong,” as it’s known in British parlance, as part of the king’s birthday honors list, which rewards notable people from across British society.
The move also means his famous wife, Spice Girl-turned-fashion mogul Victoria, will now be known as Lady Beckham. Their marriage in 1999 made them Britain’s most famous couple and a near permanent fixture in tabloid newspapers and magazines, an obsession that has lasted into the age of social media.
Beckham, 50, rose from an unremarkable east London upbringing to reach sporting glory with his beloved Manchester United, before going on to star for several of Europe’s elite teams. He played more than 100 games for the English men’s national team, many as captain, and scored at three World Cups.
He was part of the famous “Class of 92,” a supremely talented group of young players who signed professional deals in 1992 and went on to form the basis of United’s imperial phase of dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s. This culminated in the club winning an unprecedented “treble” of titles in 1999: the Premier League, the European Champions League, and the English FA Cup, under manager Alex Ferguson.
Beckham won 19 major trophies in his career and became the first English player to win major titles in four different countries.
An elegant player, Beckham’s intelligence made up for his lack of pace and trickery. He was famous for his long passes that opened up defenses and for devastating free kicks, which, according to former teammates, he spent countless hours perfecting.
His career took him to the United States in 2007, where he played for the LA Galaxy and helped to build soccer’s profile in the country.
Beckham has been an ambassador for UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s fund, since 2005. Ten years later, the organization launched a fund in his name.
Beckham’s post-playing career was shaped in part by media entrepreneur Simon Fuller, formerly manager of the Spice Girls. Fuller was instrumental in putting a clause in his contract that would give him a stake in an MLS franchise for $25 million when he finished playing.
As a result, he is now president and co-owner of the Inter Miami MLS franchise, currently home to Argentine legend Lionel Messi, who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.
Beckham has maintained a higher profile than any footballer of his generation. From waiting for hours in the miles-long line to see Queen Elizabeth’s coffin (apparently without asking for special access) in 2022 to a four-part Emmy-winning docuseries on Netflix last year, his star profile remains huge.
In 2017, it looked like a knighthood was a long way off when leaked emails allegedly written by Beckham were highly critical of the honors system. A spokesperson for the Beckhams said at the time that the stolen emails were “hacked and doctored.”
While awarded by the king, or at least a senior royal, honors are actually decided by committees of politicians, civil servants, and leading business figures. The overall process is managed by 10 Downing Street, the private office and residence of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who received a knighthood in 2014.
