David Beckham is to be awarded a knighthood in the King’s Birthday Honours, according to reports.
The former England captain will appear on the list due to be released next week, the Sun reported, having previously been awarded an OBE in 2003.
Beckham, who played for his country 115 times and has carried out extensive charity work, has been in the running for a knighthood for more than a decade.
The Unicef goodwill ambassador, who turned 50 in May, would take on the title of Sir and his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, would become Lady Beckham.
He had been on the verge of receiving a knighthood in the 2014 New Year’s Honours list but HM Revenue and Customs placed a red flag on his nomination due to his involvement in an alleged tax avoidance scheme, according to previous reports.
Speculation that Beckham was in line for a knighthood grew after he announced his retirement from football in 2013.
Footage published by the Sun shows the King asking Beckham if he “received his 50th birthday present”, during a conversation at the Chelsea Flower Show last month.
The King appeared to say “I’m glad it got to you”, with Beckham responding: “It was incredible, thank you, it was very kind”.
The Queen was then heard telling Beckham: “I’m glad you got the roses.”
Beckham is the only Englishman to score at three different World Cups and his career included the treble-winning campaign of 1998-99, when Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
He earned the third highest number of England caps of all time for the men’s team, and was captain on 59 occasions.
After playing for United, Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Madrid, Beckham turned to making his co-owned US team Inter Miami into a success.
The former winger married Victoria, also known as Posh Spice, in 1999.
Together the power couple starred in the Netflix documentary Beckham – which included a viral scene of her discussing class.
The four-part documentary series about Beckham’s life and professional career scored him an Emmy in 2024 for outstanding documentary or non-fiction series.
Beckham was given his OBE for services to football on the recommendation of then-prime minister Tony Blair.
His wife Victoria got the same honour for services to the fashion industry in a later New Year Honours list.
