Brooklyn’s Olive Branch: Inside the Beckham Family Feud and His Birthday Message to Harper

Brooklyn Beckham has known for weeks what he wanted to do to mark sister Harper’s 14th birthday. He would send her all his love.

Of course he would. Nobody who knows him thought he’d do anything else.

And so, at 12.49pm today, he finally congratulated his beloved little sister with the words ‘Happy birthday Harper, we love u’ posted on his Instagram stories – and at the same time had his say on a feud which has transfixed the world.

Perhaps significantly, the best wishes came from both Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz and the picture chosen was of the couple smiling with Harper – just to underline that the lovebirds are a package deal.

An impeccably placed source spoke today of hopes that this simple post might be the first step in healing his fractured bond with parents David and Victoria and siblings Romeo and Cruz – although, truly, after all that has happened over the past few months, that seems unlikely.

The source said: ‘This is a positive step and we will see what happens now.

‘The sister isn’t anything to do with the problems, so there is no reason for him not to wish her a happy birthday. There is no issue with Harper.

‘This will show that he does care deeply about his family.

Brooklyn Beckham paid tribute to his sister Harper on her 14th birthday – in a shock move amid fears he would ignore the festivities due to family tensions 

The post marks Brooklyn’s first public interaction with his family since he paid tribute to his grandmother Sandra on 26 June, despite remaining silent and shunning his father’s 50th birthday earlier the same month 

‘He wants to post because he is his own person, contrary to those who try and suggest otherwise, and he loves the family and hopes that they love him.’

The source added: ‘Brooklyn and Nicola hope for a better direction – but that will be down to the family reaction.’

The schism was first revealed in my story back in July 2022 – not long after their wedding that April. I noted that Brooklyn’s mother Victoria, 51, and Brooklyn’s wife Nicola, 30, never ‘liked’ each other’s posts on social media.

Sources said the two women had fallen out during the planning and execution of the wedding, which was held at the Peltz family mansion in Florida.

I was told there had been some embarrassing clashes over everything from security to the wedding dress, which was not made by fashion designer Victoria even though Nicola had initially hoped it would be.

All concerned stayed quiet, however, and believed the difficulties would be patched up over time. It would certainly not be the first mother-in-law and daughter clash amid the heightened atmosphere of a wedding.

Yet, despite Nicola attending Victoria’s fashion shows in Paris twice in the years that followed, a true rapprochement hasn’t happened.

The sad rift became evident this spring when Brooklyn, 26, didn’t show up for any of his father’s 50th birthday celebrations earlier this year.

Brooklyn’s post came shortly before David then wished Harper a happy birthday

Earlier on Thursday, the family matriarch Victoria and her son Romeo were the first members of the Beckham family to share tributes to daughter Harper as she celebrated her 14th birthday while Brooklyn later followed suit 

He had flown with Nicola to the UK, apparently with the intention of coming along to at least one of the many events, but in the end did not attend a single celebration. Afterwards, he returned to the US.

Indeed, he didn’t even offer his congratulations to his father on the milestone birthday, and again was silent when it was announced in June that David is to receive a knighthood – a long-cherished dream for the former footballer.

Meanwhile sources close to the Beckhams have described the family’s sadness at the growing estrangement with Brooklyn since he married Nicola.

A source close to the Peltz-Beckhams says: ‘It is a sad situation – the two families have so many blessings. They have tried to make it up. Nicola has worn Victoria Beckham clothes to a number of events, for example.’

The seeds of the conflict appear to lie in events at that wedding in April 2022. The exact nature of the fall out is disputed, with sources close to the Beckhams claiming that patriarch Nelson Peltz was ‘vile’ on the day. A renowned billionaire investor and corporate raider, he has influence, power and wealth far in excess of the Beckham family.

But at the heart of the upset lies a performance at the wedding by the singer Marc Anthony, a long time close friend of David’s.

Sources say that Anthony’s performance, on a stage built for him at the property, was prefaced with a speech by the singer which described ‘Posh Spice’ Victoria as ‘the most beautiful woman in the room.’

This caused enormous upset. As anyone who has been married will attest, no matter what the circumstances, the bride is always – always – the most beautiful person in the room.

I’m told, simply: ‘It was an insult to the bride.’

The Beckhams’ side also deny that Victoria stole a first dance with the groom from Nicola.

Since the wedding there has been conflict – overt and covert. A source says: ‘It feels as if it has not stopped. There was a lot of upset at the wedding. What happened was very upsetting to Brooklyn and to Nicola and to the rest of the family.

‘The speech was witnessed by hundreds of people and videoed and there is no denying it.

‘It has ended up with a very sad situation where good news like a knighthood is all seen through this lens of whether Brooklyn reacts.

‘It was five years ago. He and Nicola have tried and tried. The idea that Nicola is some evil person in control of him is wrong.’

In recent months Brooklyn, who runs a hot sauce business and is a foodie influencer, got a tattoo of some flowers which mostly covers the previous ‘mama’s boy’ inking over his heart.

A friend of Victoria’s told me earlier this year that the former Spice Girl has never wanted to accept Nicola’s primacy, and that this was at the heart of their issues during that fraught three-day wedding in 2022, and the fractious years since.

‘The two couples made it mostly look good enough for Instagram, but it was never settled,’ I’m told. ‘It’s been war behind the scenes pretty much ever since the wedding.’

It’s always been a tug of war about Brooklyn, and Victoria has not wanted to let go.

‘Victoria feels he has been absorbed into the Peltzes and that his life is all about that family. It has caused resentment.

‘Even when Nicola and Brooklyn went out to Paris for Victoria’s fashion show, they stayed with her family because her mother likes to go to the couture shows.’

Brooklyn, the eldest son of David and Victoria, has idolised both his parents, and as a teenager would often accompany Victoria to events as her ‘plus one’. She plainly doted on him.

However, he has not measured up to his parents’ global successes in sport, music and fashion.

He played for Arsenal’s youth academy, but left at 15 without making the transition to professional football. He said in an interview in 2022: ‘I have a lot of anxiety. And to try to live up to what my dad did, it was just like, it got to the point where I was just, like, I really just want to make my own name for myself and work my a*** off. I’m a Pisces. Sensitive.’

His modelling and photography also didn’t stick, and wife Nicola has since said she thinks he was being guided in the wrong direction – by his parents.

His current passion for food has seen him following his own path, and he has been lucky to have advice from her billionaire tycoon father in launching a hot sauce brand, Cloud23.

Nelson Peltz is on the board of Unilever, which makes Hellman’s mayonnaise, Knorr sauces and Colman’s mustard – you couldn’t hope to be taken under a better wing in the sauce ‘space’.

When Brooklyn set up the brand last October, it was widely assumed that ‘23’ referred to his father’s playing number at Real Madrid and LA Galaxy, and earlier this year Brooklyn’s team described it as a ‘warm nod’ to his father’s jersey in promotional material.

But in a Glamour magazine interview in April, he said: ‘The 23 stands for our engagement date and my age back then.’

Brooklyn was an aspiring photographer when he first met and was ‘captivated’ by Nicola at Californian music festival Coachella in 2017. Of their first meeting, Nicola said: ‘Our encounter was brief, but special.

‘I had a boyfriend, Brooklyn a girlfriend, but I immediately felt his charm. He took a few photos of me and stayed in my heart long before we really knew each other.’

He had known he wanted to marry Nicola after three months of dating and planned a romantic proposal with surprise visits from all her family, and a ring he designed himself.

Nicola says: ‘We were engaged for a long time because of Covid. We wanted a big wedding, but we also wanted to protect our grandparents. There were moments when we thought, should we just elope in Vegas? But people talked us out of it. When you’ve lived together for a while, marriage doesn’t change everything except that it feels really special to say “my husband” or “my wife”.’

Brooklyn agrees with her: ‘Same here. It felt weird saying “fiancee” for so long. I love calling her “my wife” now. Or “my missus”. It just feels better.’

The interview goes on to discuss their wedding day, with Nicola saying, some may think pointedly: ‘Someone gave us this advice and I’m so glad we listened: Take a moment during [your wedding] day just for the two of you.

‘Step away, breathe, be together. Those were my favourite moments. ‘Weddings can be intense, especially when you’re busy making sure everyone else is having fun. That little break reminded us what it’s really about: us.’

Brooklyn added: ‘I totally agree. After the ceremony, find time to disappear for a second. We took a quick drive, just the two of us. It was perfect. Also, love each other, be honest, and always protect one another.’

The couple are currently on holiday off the coast of France on the Peltz family yacht. They are geographically close to the Beckhams, who are in the UK. Now comes a step which attempts to lay a path towards reconciliation. Will peace at last break out?