Sir David Beckham was honored to be knighted by King Charles III, though his children had follow-up questions about what it all meant.
“The only thing that changed was my note paper that I send out to people [in] thank you letters. That’s the only thing that really changed,” Beckham, 51, said on the Friday, March 27, episode of the talkSport radio show. “My kids [did] turn around to me and said, ‘Do we get any privileges? Like any?’”
David shares sons Brooklyn, 27, Romeo, 23, and Cruz, 21, as well as daughter Harper, 14, with wife Victoria Beckham. (David and Victoria, 51, are currently estranged from Brooklyn following fallout from his 2022 wedding to actress Nicola Peltz Beckham.)
David received his knighthood from Charles, 77, in November 2025, soon having to explain to his kids that there weren’t extra perks.
“I was, like, ‘Well, apart from the ones that you already got, absolutely not,’” the retired soccer legend quipped on Friday. “I mean, [the ceremony] was unbelievable. It was probably the best day of my life other than, obviously, when my kids were born and when I got married. It was special to receive that.”
David’s sons Romeo and Cruz both publicly celebrated their dad’s royal honor after the initial June 2025 announcement.
“I’m so proud of you, Dad, I love you. Sir David Beckham has a nice ring to it!”” Cruz wrote via his Instagram Stories, while Romeo added on his page, “So so proud of you.”
David, who was previously awarded an OBE in 2021 from the late Queen Elizabeth III, had wife Victoria and his parents by his side during the investiture ceremony.
Mia Regen, Romeo Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Harper Beckham, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz in 2023. HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images
“It was everything. We are both so patriotic, so proud to be British,” Victoria gushed of the ceremony on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in December 2025. So, for David to be knighted by the King of our country it meant so much. It was a real, real ‘pinch me’ moment. And I think the whole country is so proud of him, everything that he’s achieved.”
According to the former Spice Girl, her husband’s honor was “well deserved.”
“We are so proud of him,” she said at the time. “What he’s done for the sport, and also his philanthropic work, is amazing. So, we’re so proud of him, so deserved.”
David and Victoria’s firstborn, Brooklyn, did not publicly acknowledge the honor and has seldom had contact with his family.
Victoria and David Beckham have always been considered British showbiz royalty — they famously even sat on thrones at their 1999 wedding — but now the family can relate more than ever to the actual royal family, with their current dramas echoing the long-term rifts in the monarchy that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are at […]
“I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life,” Brooklyn wrote in a January statement. “I grew up with overwhelming anxiety. For the first time in my life, since stepping away from my family, that anxiety has disappeared. I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose, and have found peace and relief.”
He concluded, “My wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press, or manipulation. All we want peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family.”
While David and Victoria haven’t addressed the accusations, they each publicly shared social media tributes on Brooklyn’s 27th birthday earlier in March. A source later told Us Weekly that Brooklyn “ignored” the messages.
“He is still keeping his distance and is not in touch with his parents,” the insider exclusively told Us earlier this month. “They are trying, but Brooklyn has ignored their attempts.”
