David Beckham attends his first state banquet at Buckingham Palace for Qatari visit
David and Victoria Beckham were among guests at a Buckingham Palace banquet to celebrate the state visit of Qatar on Tuesday night, joining the King and other dignitaries to provide the highest level of welcome the country can offer.
The Beckhams, whose attendance was kept secret until the event began, joined the King, Queen and Prince of Wales for the event, which was held for the Emir of Qatar, his wife, and their delegation.
They were among guests who heard the King welcome Qatari guests in Arabic, saying “Assalamu-Alaykum” (Peace be upon you) and quoting from the Koran.
Calling the ties between the two countries “profound, personal and historic”, he referred to Qatar’s role in mediating between Israel and Hamas to express the UK’s “deepest gratitude for your tireless mediation efforts over the past year in pursuit of peace, against the most unbearable heartache and suffering”.
Beckham, the former England footballer, had attended several royal events in previous years, including his investiture with an OBE in 2017 and the Queen’s Young Leader event in 2018.
But this was his first invitation to a state banquet, and comes in a year in which he held a meeting with the King about their shared passion of beekeeping, having been made an ambassador for The King’s Foundation, and helped Prince William raise funds for the London Air Ambulance.
In June during an event at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the King’s Foundation, he was teased by Sir Rod Stewart for his lack of knighthood, joking: “I’m also wonderfully honoured to be a knight. David, yours is coming soon.”
In 2022, Beckham was heavily criticised for becoming an ambassador for football’s World Cup in Qatar, with questions over the country’s ban on same-sex relationships and alleged treatment of migrant workers.
During the state banquet, he was placed between Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of football team Paris Saint-Germain, and Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition.
His wife, as is customary at state banquets, was placed on the opposite side of the table.
