
David Beckham and Gary Oldman awarded knighthoods
LONDON: Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles' annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and AC Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama 'Darkest Hour'.
He also had roles in the 'Dark Knight Trilogy' and the 'Harry Potter' movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama 'Slow Horses'.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles' official birthday was celebrated with the annual 'Trooping the Colour' military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14.
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David Beckham and Gary Oldman awarded knighthoods
LONDON: Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles' annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour. Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups. He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and AC Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances. His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits. Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama 'Darkest Hour'. He also had roles in the 'Dark Knight Trilogy' and the 'Harry Potter' movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama 'Slow Horses'. Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater. Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity. More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said. King Charles' official birthday was celebrated with the annual 'Trooping the Colour' military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14.


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The royal family were quick to embrace David Beckham, inviting him to the weddings of Prince William and Kate Middleton and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. PHOTO: AFP David Beckham's knighthood is the culmination of years of tireless efforts to transcend football and turn himself into a global icon at the "intersection of sport, fashion and business." He had long dreamed of becoming a sir and King Charles III made it a reality when he announced his birthday's honours list on Friday, marking the end of a decades-long journey travelled with his Spice Girl wife Victoria, creator of the eponymous fashion brand. The honour, one of the highest bestowed by the UK state, "is a powerful symbolic marker", Marie Agnes Parmentier, professor of marketing at the University of Montreal and author of several papers on "Posh and Becks", explained to AFP. It "reinforces his image as a respectable, committed, and, first and foremost, British man," she added. The knighthood could present new opportunities for the 50-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid player, "particularly in diplomatic, charitable or political spheres", said Parmentier. The former free-kick ace, from a modest East London background, diversified his career after retiring from football in 2013, but success was the result of planning long before he hung up his boots. "I knew my career was going to end at some point and I wanted to have a career after football," he said in the documentary series "Beckham", which aired on Netflix in 2023. Pioneer At the height of his football career, Beckham was signing deals with top clothing and beauty brands, building an audience that cut across gender, age and nationality — becoming the first England player to crack the US market. The successful brand was built on his always immaculate appearance and nearly-always exemplary off-field behaviour, coupled with an unwavering drive to become a pioneer. This required a certain amount of courage, given that English football in the 1990s was generally the preserve of no-nonsense lads more interested in the pub than the catwalk. His appearance in a sarong during the 1998 World Cup, revelations that he used make-up, and his eccentric hairstyles were all feverishly gobbled up by the UK's tabloid press. Beckham is still capitalising on the fascination, almost 30 years later. He unveiled his first collection for Hugo Boss in April, is the founder of the Inter Miami football club and the "Studio 99" production company, and has been a UNICEF ambassador for 20 years. He is now best known not for football, "but for being Beckham, the brand", said sociologist Ellis Cashmore. It is a brand worth £500 million ($676 million), according to The Times newspaper's 2025 ranking. From Outcast to Hero The Netflix show exposed the couple to an emerging younger audience, cementing their fame for the foreseeable future. Beckham "embodies a celebrity at the intersection of sport, fashion, entertainment and business," explained Parmentier. The couple's enduring visibility "is based on a sophisticated media strategy and an ability to embody universal values such as work, family and style," she added. But it has been a long and bumpy road, Cashmore pointed out. In 1998, Beckham was called the most hated man in England after he petulantly kicked out at Argentina's Diego Simeone during their World Cup round of 16 game. Beckham was harshly sent off and England lost to their bitter rivals in a penalty shoot-out. Those who had bitten their tongue about his off-field flamboyance gave full vent to their feelings. National headlines the next day included "10 Heroic Lions, One Stupid Boy" (Daily Mirror) and "You're Just A Joke Becks" (Daily Mail). Months of "hell" followed, with death threats, spitting and boos accompanying Beckham wherever he went. "Wherever I went I got abused, every single day," he said. "I find it hard to talk through what I went through because it was so extreme. The whole country hated me." But the ordeal only sharpened Beckham's focus. A year later, he finished second in the Ballon d'Or as he helped Manchester United claim an unprecedented treble, winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. It was often said that Beckham's career seemed to be scripted by a movie writer, never more so than when the fallen idol took his revenge by scoring the winning goal against perennial rivals Argentina in the 2002 World Cup, redeeming his national hero status.