Arise Sir David! Beckham to be awarded a knighthood by King Charles, according to media reports

By PAN PYLAS LONDON AP David Beckham the former England soccer captain who has been an ambassador for the U N children s fund for two decades is to receive a knighthood in next week s honors list from King Charles III according to U K media reports Friday Without citing sources the BBC stated Beckham is set to receive further recognition both for his soccer career and his contributions to British society The knighthood will make Beckham Sir David while his wife since former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham will become Lady Beckham In Beckham was awarded the Order of the British Empire or OBE for services to soccer Victoria Beckham got the same honor for services to the fashion industry in a later New Year Honours list Honors are awarded twice a year once at New Year s and then in June to mark the king s birthday They are mostly made on the recommendation of the leadership though the monarch has input too Prime Minister Keir Starmer s office would not confirm the press reports as is custom Buckingham Palace declined to comment The Associated Press has not been able to independently confirm the award of the knighthood which was first published in The Sun tabloid newspaper In video footage published by The Sun from the Chelsea Flower Show earlier this month the king is seen asking Beckham if he received his th birthday present The King appeared to say I m glad it got to you with Beckham responding It was incredible thank you it was very kind Beckham and the king have crossed paths on numerous occasions including at state functions Last year Beckham became an ambassador for The King s Foundation an educational and sustainability charity Charles launched in Beckham who is clearly a patriot is the only English soccer sportsman to count at three different World Cups and his illustrious career included the treble-winning campaign of when Manchester United won the Premier League the FA Cup and the Champions League With appearances for the England national club Beckham is third in the all-time list He also captained the side on occasions After leaving Manchester United Beckham played for Real Madrid Los Angeles Galaxy and Paris Saint-Germain He now co-owns the MLS crew Inter Miami His career wasn t invariably a high though After the World Cup in France Beckham was widely vilified for his petulant kick of Argentina player Diego Simeone which saw him sent off A large number of fans blamed him for England s exit In s Netflix documentary series Beckham he described the abuse he experienced which included an effigy of him hanging from a noose outside a London pub I knew it was bad at the time but going over that whole thing was quite a tough one he described the AP The four-part documentary series about Beckham s life and professional career scored him an Emmy in for outstanding documentary or non-fiction series Beckham has been a style icon and celebrity and has been a prominent supporter of charities including UNICEF which created The David Beckham UNICEF Fund in to mark a decade s partnership between the two Beckham also played a pivotal role in London being awarded the Summer Olympic Games in If the knighthood is endorsed Beckham would join an elite group of British soccer players to have been knighted including England s World Cup winners Geoff Hurst and Bobby Charlton and Scotland s Kenny Dalglish