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New York Post
David Beckham’s ‘unless it’s a knighthood, f—k off’ tantrum ruined his chances of being made a ‘Sir’: book
By Jeanette Settembre,
6 days ago
David Beckham’s foul mouth red carded his chances of getting a knighthood.
The soccer legend mounted a campaign to get an honor from the Queen which would give him the title ‘Sir’ and make his wife ‘Lady’ Victoria in the UK.
However, his apparent tax avoidance and private emails – in which he branded the Honors Committee which rejected him “unappreciative c***s” – torpedoed it.
Former England captain Beckham, now 49, had started doing charity work as his professional career was winding up in 2013, in a bid to get noticed by the board who issue the honors.
Friends of the former soccer star assured he was a “shoe in” for knighthood, the highest honors in the United Kingdom given to men by the British monarch for their service in 2013. But his dodgy tax returns sidelined his Sir status, Tom Bower’s new tell-all “The House of Beckham” reveals. Getty Images
Friends, including Olympian Lord Sebastian Coe, assured he was a “shoe in” for a knighthood – one of the highest honors in England — according to new tell-all book “The House of Beckham” by Tom Bower, which is out in the UK now and published in the US next Tuesday .
His team even contrived an elaborate plan to boost his do-good image and in November of that year Beckham he volunteered to help in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan to promote a “man-of-the-people” persona and being spotted at local bars and dining out in public cafes.
Even Victoria tried to downplay her celebrity by identifying publicly as an average mom, and sharing a photo of her donation to victims of Typhoon Haiyan.
But when Beck’s knighthood notice never arrived that December he asked Coe: “What have I done wrong?”
After the list was published, Victoria was “gutted” to have her Lady title rejected, according to Bower.
In a bizarre push to drum up Beckham’s charity efforts, a rep from the soccer star’s camp suggested sponsors for Beckham’s charities of choice fund his flight to space. They were so desperate, they considered seeking funding from dictators of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, according to the book AP
David also dismissed the possibility of a lesser role being Commander of the British Empire (CBE), emailing Coe: “Unless it’s a knighthood, f—k off. They’re a bunch of c—s. I expected nothing less.”
The snub infuriated him.
“If I was an American I would of [sic] got something like this 10 years ago,” he wrote, seemingly unaware non-UK citizens very rarely qualify for the country’s honors .
Another email also blasted his one-time charity fundraising pal, Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins.
“Katherine Jenkins OBE [knighthood] for what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops plus taking coke. F—ing joke,” Beckham wrote.
When Beck’s knighthood notice never arrived in December, 2013, he asked Coe, “What have I done wrong?” Netflix
Those emails would not come to light until 2017 when they were hacked from a computer and published online.
At that time a spokesperson for Beckham said they were “based on outdated material taken out of context.”
In 2013 the committee had rejected the knighthood bid after realizing he was not registered as living in the UK at the time but reported earning $26.8 million playing for LA Galaxy – none of which went back into the UK’s coffers.
Victoria was “gutted” to have her Lady title rejected, according to the book. And David dismissed the possibility of a lesser role being Commander of the British Empire (CBE), emailing Coe: “Unless it’s a knighthood, f—k off. They’re a bunch of c—s. I expected nothing less.” Getty Images
David’s tax avoidance via his non-dom status, seemingly allowing him to buy a seven-bedroom house in London’s Holland Park for nearly $40 million, according to the book, coupled with his extravagant lifestyle cost him knighthood. Netflix
Beckham was also involved in an allegedly legal “aggressive tax avoidance” scheme backed by London-based investment company Ingenious Films, according to the book. Beckham, Bower writes, was one of the targets for recovering taxes lost by those involved in the grey area scheme.
Those things, coupled with buying a seven-bedroom house in London’s Holland Park for nearly $40 million and the Beckhams’ extravagant lifestyle, were a no-go for former head of civil service Bob Kerslake and the chairman of the Honors Committee, according to Bower’s book.
In the summer of 2014, Beckham’s team encouraged him to donate to UNICEF to up his chances of knighthood, but the former soccer star’s interest was waning.
Queen Elizabeth II meets David Beckham at Buckingham Palace on June 26, 2018 in London, England. Getty Images
Instead, he made the humanitarian organization upgrade his five-star hotel on a UNICEF trip to Cambodia and refused to contribute his personal money to help foot the bill.
Beckham has since had various issues with the UK treasury over paying tax, which were finally resolved and he was given the “all clear” to receive a knighthood in 2021, according to the UK’s Daily Mirror .
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