Arise Sir Goldenballs! David Beckham finally receives knighthood

David Beckham was among those accepting honours on Tuesday as he received a knighthood from King Charles at Windsor Castle.

The former England captain was awarded the honour for his services to sport and charity.

The 50-year-old from north-east London made his Premier League debut for Manchester United in 1995, going on to score 85 goals in his 394 appearances for the Red Devils.

Beckham went on to win six Premier League titles and two FA Cups with his boyhood club, as well as playing a key part in United’s dramatic Champions League final victory in 1999 when they beat Bayern Munich with two late goals.

The midfielder, famously known as Goldenballs, also received 115 international caps for England and enjoyed spells at Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain before retiring from the sport in 2013.

Alongside his football career, he has supported a number of charity causes, including serving as a goodwill ambassador for the humanitarian aid organisation UNICEF since 2005.

Earlier this year, Sir David said he was ‘immensely proud’ of being recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours, which, in turn, ended his long wait having first been put forward for a knighthood in 2011.

Beckham, who last year described himself as a ‘huge royalist’, was nominated after helping to secure the London 2012 Olympics but was reportedly rejected by the Honours Committee after being caught up in the Ingenious tax avoidance scheme.

But having had his finances cleared by the taxman four years later, Beckham was back in line to receive the coveted honour.

Sir David, who previously received an OBE in 2003 for services to football, has formed a close relationship with the King and last year was named an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, an educational charity established by the King in 1990.

Sir David married his wife Victoria in 1999 and the couple share four children together – Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper. The former Spice Girls singer will now be known as Lady Beckham.

Also among the personalities to be honoured on Tuesday are Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sir Kazuo Ishiguro and West End performer Dame Elaine Paige.

Sir Kazuo was made a Companion of Honour for services to literature.

The Order of the Companions of Honour was founded in 1917 by George V and is limited to 65 members at any one time. Appointments go to those who have made a long-standing contribution to arts, science, medicine or government.

The Japanese-born author, 70, who moved to the UK as a child, 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.

Dame Elaine, given a damehood for services to music and charity, was born Elaine Bickerstaff in north London 1948 and became an overnight star with her portrayal of Eva Peron in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Evita.

After the show debuted in 1978, the 77-year-old, who had been nominated alongside her co-star David Essex, won the Olivier Award for performance of the year in a musical.

She has had starring roles in Cats, Chess, Piaf, and Sunset Boulevard – and has more recently starred in pantomimes at The London Palladium.

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