‘Immensely proud’ David Beckham describes knighthood as ‘truly humbling’ after years of being snubbed
LONDON, UK: David Beckham has expressed his joy and “immense pride” he felt after receiving a knighthood for his services to sport and to charity after years of being snubbed.
The retired soccer player, who has now become a 'Sir', was honored on June 12 along with The Who frontman Roger Daltrey and Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Besides, singer and actress Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Baker, and former defence secretary Penny Mordaunt also received damehoods.
David Beckham says he’s ‘grateful to be recognized’ after getting knighted
Beckham, who has been an ambassador for Unicef since 2005, shared in a statement, “To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career and literally a boyhood dream come true.”
The Inter Miami co-owner also said that “off the pitch I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to represent Britain around the world and work with incredible organisations that are supporting communities in need and inspiring the next generation.”
“I'm so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment. It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family,” he added, as per The Mirror.
David Beckham was about to get knighthood years ago
He also shared multiple photos from the event on his Instagram account and wrote, "Great to spend time at the @kingsfdn awards meeting inspiring people who are transforming lives through initiatives in environmental education, traditional heritage crafts and sustainable architecture. Congratulations to all the winners."
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Beckham, who was appointed as an ambassador for King Charles' charity, The King's Foundation, in 2024, was previously nominated for a knighthood over a decade ago.
But he did not get it at the time after he had allegedly called the nominations committee “unappreciative c***s” and described their decision as “a disgrace, to be honest”.
This came after in 2017, his wife Victoria Beckham was given the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) title by Prince William.
Victoria Beckham was honored with OBE in 2017
At the time, the fashion designer said, as per BBC, “It was an absolute pleasure to be at Buckingham Palace today. I'm proud to be British, honoured and humbled to receive my OBE from the Duke of Cambridge.”
“If you dream big and work hard you can accomplish great things. I'm so happy to share this very special occasion with my parents and husband; without their love and support, none of this would be possible,” she had added.
