He described himself as ‘immensely proud’ when he was awarded a knighthood in the King’s Birthday Honours. Now, David Beckham has received an honour that was bestowed on King Charles himself earlier this year.
The former England football captain has had a rose bred and named after him, thanks to his teenage daughter, Harper.
To create the flower, the 14-year-old commissioned David Austin, which displayed its King Charles Rose at Chelsea Flower Show in the summer.
The scented Sir David Beckham Rose, which is white like England football shirts, will be the only new rose that David Austin Roses will launch at next year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Money from the sale of each plant will go towards The King’s Foundation.
The former England football captain has had a rose bred and named after him…
…and it’s all thanks to his teenage daughter, Harper
Ten large flowerpots containing bushes in full bloom were delivered in time for Becks’ 50th birthday celebrations in May.
The rose’s origin dates back to spring 2012, when David Austin Roses made the cross that gave birth to the original seedling from which the many thousands of plants have successively been propagated. ‘Harper, is great at giving personal presents,’
Beckham writes in Country Life magazine, of which he is guest editor this week. ‘In the run-up to my 50th birthday, she kept saying, “Daddy, I’ve bought you something money can’t buy.”
‘I was so emotional when she said there was a special rose being created for me. I’ve always loved roses. We have them around the doors. They are a patriotic symbol of England and I’ve sent so many to Victoria during the 28 years we’ve been together.’
He adds: ‘What Harper has done for me is incredible. I have planted a circular rose garden so that I can grow my rose at our house in the Cotswolds.’
Georgia May and her boy have style in the bag
When it comes to fashion, Georgia May Jagger clearly has it in the bag.
The 33-year-old daughter of Rolling Stones singer Sir Mick Jagger and Texan supermodel Jerry Hall shared a playful snap online of herself inside a giant Fendi shopping bag.
Tucked behind is the model’s one-year-old son, Dean, whose father is skateboarder Cambryan Sedlick.
Dean made his modelling debut this year in a Burberry Mother’s Day campaign.
Birds Of A Feather star Lesley Joseph admits she is not a doting grandmother. The actress, who has two children, is still working after turning 80 last week.
‘I feel tremendous guilt for not being the grandmother my kids probably expected,’ she tells me at the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards in London.
‘I’ve never done the school run or babysitting. I just find it hard to say no to acting jobs.’
I’ve never done the school run or babysitting. I just find it hard to say no to acting jobs.’
Morticia’s mortifying flight
Oscar-winner Anjelica Huston, who played Morticia Addams in The Addams Family and starred in The Witches, was spooked by shoe designer Patrick Cox when they were on the same flight to Los Angeles as Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish.
‘Anjelica went up to David and goes, “Is he still alive? He’s not moved once. It’s an 11-hour flight from Heathrow to LAX and he’s literally not moved,” ’ Cox tells the Travel Secrets podcast.
Furnish responded: ‘Oh, that’s Patrick, he always does that.’ Cox adds: ‘If you go on a flight with me, don’t expect riveting conversation.’ Clearly!
Highclere Castle, which doubles as Downton Abbey in the hit period drama, is the scene of a real-life ‘catastrophe’.
The Countess of Carnarvon, chatelaine of the stately home in Hampshire, has revealed that the beautiful ash trees on the 5,000-acre estate are rapidly dying because of the fungal disease ash dieback.
‘Here at Highclere, what began slowly is now a catastrophe and we have had to clear thousands of trees,’ she says. ‘It is the saddest sight and, at the moment, there is no cure.’
Hurley’s housework workout plan
Forget workouts in Lycra, do the housework instead, says Elizabeth Hurley.
‘I can’t remember when I last went to a gym,’ says the 60-year-old actress, model and swimwear businesswoman.
‘I don’t like that sort of exercise. But when I’m in the country I’m very active outside, plus I spend my life running up the stairs carrying things. Cleaning the skirting boards you can burn a lot of calories. There are things we can do that aren’t yawn, yawn, going to the gym.’
She adds: ‘There’s a benefit that your house looks nice and so does your garden. That’s not a bad thing.’
Punk Princess loses tiara in Louvre heist
No one is more upset by the heist at the Louvre than Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, who became known as the Punk Princess because of her rebellious, flamboyant fashion sense in the 1980s.
The tiara she wore at her wedding (left) to Germany’s richest aristocrat, Prince Johannes, was among the treasures stolen from the Paris museum on Sunday.
‘What a tragedy,’ her daughter, Princess Elisabeth, says. ‘A heist of such scale in broad daylight at one of the most visited and prestigious museums in the world.
‘Among the stolen jewels is this tiara originally designed for Empress Eugenie by Lemonnier then brought into our family and worn beautifully by my mother at our parents’ wedding.
‘It was later sold to the Louvre to rejoin the royal collection and be admired by a vast public. Now it’s gone.’
