David Beckham will receive a knighthood at Windsor Castle for his contributions to football and charity, joining other prominent figures honoured on Tuesday

London, 4 November 2025 — Former England captain and football midfielder David Beckham is set to receive a knighthood at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, in recognition of his services to sport and charity.

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The 50-year-old football icon, who hails from north-east London, expressed earlier this year that he was “immensely proud” to be recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours.

Beckham made his Premier League debut for Manchester United in 1995, and played a pivotal role in the club’s dramatic 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich, scoring six goals in total and helping the team secure six Premier League titles and two FA Cups. He retired from professional football in 2013.

Beyond the pitch, Beckham has been active in philanthropy, serving as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF since 2005, and in 2024, he became an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, an educational charity established by King Charles III in 1990.

Beckham is also celebrated for his fashion sense, having modelled for brands such as H&M, Armani, and Boss, and was named GQ’s Most Stylish Man of the Year in 1998. He and his wife, Victoria, married in 1999 and have four children: Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper.

Also recognised on Tuesday are Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro and West End performer Elaine Paige. Ishiguro, 70, was appointed a Companion of Honour for services to literature.

Known for works such as The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro has also written the Oscar-nominated screenplay for the 2022 film Living.

Damehood was awarded to Elaine Paige, 77, for services to music and charity.

Paige rose to fame starring as Eva Peron in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita and has since enjoyed a career spanning more than 20 solo albums and numerous West End musicals, including Cats, Chess, and Sunset Boulevard.

Both Ishiguro and Paige, like Beckham, have contributed significantly beyond their professional achievements, supporting various charitable causes and enhancing the UK’s cultural and social landscape.