In America, state dinners are often star-studded affairs, especially when a Democrat is president. Hollywood stars and models are often invited to White House state dinners to pretty up the event and provide some juice and charisma for what can be a pretty staid affair. The same is not true of state dinners/banquets in the UK. Even during QEII’s reign, usually only a handful of actors or “celebrities” would be invited to any given state dinner, and usually those celebrities would be much older and connected in some way to the crown.
Charles and Camilla genuinely have celebrity connections through their charities and foundations, so maybe they’re trying to liven up the proceedings. They invited David and Victoria Beckham to last night’s state banquet for the emir of Qatar. According to the Telegraph, the Beckhams’ attendance “was kept secret until the event began.” This was the first time the Beckhams were invited to a state dinner, and the invitation came after years and years of David sucking up to the Windsors and openly lobbying for a knighthood. Just this year, David was named an ambassador to the King’s Foundation AND David had a private meeting with Charles at Highgrove. David also did the bizarre appearance alongside Prince William at the air ambulance thing.
Interestingly, Beckham was probably invited because of Qatar’s investment in football too. The 2022 World Cup was held in Qatar and Beckham was an ambassador for that. The palace also invited Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain, and the Beckhams were seated with him. The Telegraph also notes that Victoria and David were not seated side-by-side, and they were on opposite sides of the table.
I’m also adding photos of Princess Anne and the Duchess of Edinburgh. Anne looks like she’s wearing a sofa. Sophie’s dress is Suzannah, and she wore her usual diamond-and-aquamarine tiara. Honestly though, Victoria’s dress is pretty bad too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- London, UK, 03 December 2024: David and Victoria Beckham make their way along the East Gallery to attend the state banquet for the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Buckingham Palace, London, during his state visit to the UK.,Image: 942785331, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon/Avalon
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- London, UK, 03 December 2024: David and Victoria Beckham make their way along the East Gallery to attend the state banquet for the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Buckingham Palace, London, during his state visit to the UK.,Image: 942785345, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon/Avalon
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- London, UK, 03 December 2024: Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh and H.E. Mr. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi make their way along the East Gallery to attend the state banquet for the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Buckingham Palace, London, during his state visit to the UK.,Image: 942785475, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon/Avalon
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- London, UK, 03 December 2024: Anne, the Princess Royal and H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani make their way along the East Gallery to attend the state banquet for the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Buckingham Palace, London, during his state visit to the UK.,Image: 942785496, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon/Avalon
Anne looks like her outfit was straight from my 1987 closet.
I get thrifty/retro but come on – the 80s weren’t that stylish. Spring for a new frock.
I thought the same thing – that Anne’s dress looks like it has been in her closet for decades. LOL!
I had loads of suits and dresses with that exact shape. Leg o mutton sleeves. Ugh.
@ SarahLee, Anne’s dress probably HAS been in her closet for decades LOL
It probably has been in her closet since 1985. She is notorious for wearing the same thing decades later.
It looks like she didn’t pull it out of the back of the closet before the day of the event, so there was no time to alter the jacket to her frame. it’s at least one size too big, especially the chest and waist area. It could also be the effect of the many baubles and post-it awards pulling on the fabric, her upper body looks like a Christmas tree. She does look relaxed, though.
I actually think Princess Anne looks most relaxed, like she’s old hat at these state visits. She made her Qatari prince giggle, at any rate, and he looks like he’s delighted by her. Sophie and Posh Spice look uncomfortable.
Yes, she and her walking partner look relaxed and happy. Notably more than anyone else.
Vicky looks really stressed up but Dave is lapping it up.
Yes, they look like they’re having a pleasant evening.
Posh looks like a chipmunk with her cheek filler, lip filler and botox. The scraped back hair “a la council house facelift” does nothing for her miserable mien.
Lol…..the only thing that Ann is missing is the plastic that used to cover that couch…..
I think it was Royal Fashion Police that identified Anne’s dress as from 1985 – so she’s kept that thing for 49 years. As we say, moths must fly out of her wallet when she opens it.
39 years. Don’t age us 80s babies that much yet LOL.
The Duchess of Gloucester was there as well and looked lovely, she has some big jewelry pieces in her collection. her tiara was better than Sophie’s, poor Sophie, lol. Anne’s whole look is very anne – dated but with a big sense of “i dont care.”
Beckham’s attendance makes sense because of the Qatari connection here. And boy does he look absolutely thrilled. Not a huge fan of Victoria’s dress.
The Gloucesters have the best jewels after the monarch. When the current dukes parents, Henry and Alice, married in 1935 Alice got some amazing pieces. Many, like from her husband, her parents (the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch) and others were new or newly commissioned (including a fab diamond art deco sautoir necklace and bracelet) but many were historic pieces. These included a semi suite of diamond, pearls and emeralds (the latter jewels from gems presented by Queen Victoria to the future Queen Alexandra for her wedding in 1863) and a turquoise parure that had belonged to the Duchess of Teck (granddaughter of George III) who had given it to their daughter, the future Queen Mary, when she married in 1893. Mary also bequeathed several other major pieces such as the Iveagh tiara she’d received as a wedding gift from the Earl and Countess of Iveagh and the Greek honeysuckle tiara with the center stone being able to be swapped out for different gems. Henry inherited others, like the huge Indian tiara, from his godmother, his father’s childless cousin Marie Louise. (The tiara was made in 1923 by Cartier for the Countess of Grannard and Marie Louise had bought it in 1937 likely for the coronation of George VI.)
Honestly a lot of the various tiaras, necklaces, earrings and brooches are a) more historic b) more diverse in the gem type including a huge pink topaz brooch/pendant of Queen Mary’s c) more attractive and d) more modern looking despite their ages than many of the pieces we see on different royal women. Plus their history is clean. It’ll be sad to see them hit the auction block when the Gloucesters pass and then disappear.
Beckham’s beard looks even more scraggly than Will’s. Why did their attendance have to be kept secret? Does anybody really care that much?
Because they’re the new secret weapon.
Royals are boring – best stories are from David and Victoria. Are Qatari looking for a new team or a new coach?
Maybe…
Qatar hired coach Carlos Queiroz through the 2026 World Cup – Plus Queiroz is in his 70’s so they probably want someone younger who can bring attention and youth. David Beckham could do that.
Re : “Charles and Camilla genuinely have celebrity contacts “. Funny then that no one of any note wanted to perform at his coronation.
Yet when harry and Meghan have celebrity friends it is a bad thing.
The brown nosing Beckham’s
Victoria was rocking Wednesday from the Adams Family, David should give up on the botox. and Anne .. well, words escape me : 0
The botox, the tanning, the fillers. Victoria, too. I saw a big of video of the Beckhams, they rushed right past a lot of folks filing in. It looks like the protocol is two by two, male-female, in a line, but the Beckhams just went right past it all.
I don’t know, I kind of like Anne’s 1980s outfit. Especially when compared to the rest of the crowd. Such as the lady in the ill-fitting high water red lace dress or the cute little blonde lady wearing black tennis shoes with her dress. There is something delightfully frumpy about the British Royalty and social circle.
Dorothy Sayers once called it “slovenly dignity.”
Perfect! Almost…not sure how much dignity those folks actually have.
Honestly, once you get beyond Anne’s dress, it looks like she’s having lots of fun with the Qatari man she’s partnered with. Contrast that with Sophie.
Also in attendance: Lord Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail and Robert Thompson from another one of the media outlets (NGN?) that Harry’s suing.
Charles’ actions against Harry, the security, eviction from Frogmore and not seeing him or taking his calls, all lead back to the legal cases against the media.
God, Charles is a rat ass of a father. Imagine wining and dining the guy that ruthlessly abused your son?
Invisible contract indeed. Well, more like the very visible out in the open for all to see contract at this point.
Rothemere has Qatari ties too. He’d dropped a bid last year to use their cash to buy The Telegraph amidst government concerns.
https://www.ft.com/content/7c9c9320-740b-4dc1-81e3-aee3b67c869d
This Venn diagram is a circle. Beckham has sold his soul and any dignity he had to both the royals and Qatar.
I kind of hate everything about Victoria’s look – skinned back hair, shiny brown makeup, the funereal black. Somewhere in there the cut of the dress looks a bit interesting, but I’m not sure what’s happening in the bust area – it’s like a sports bra.
Poor Sophie, having to wear the same tiara to every event…
I have no problem with a simple black dress, but the sever hair does her face no favors.
Victoria has too much filler and Botox or the alternatives of the day to Botox – her face is frozen
Oh Sir David…any day now.
hahhahhaa. Even the daily mail is openly wishing him success in his obvious quest for a knighthood.
I’m surprised at how bad Victoria’s dress is — idk what is going on with the bodice and that knot on the front is… not well placed.
What’s most interesting to me is that all these people who were invited, but the future queen was not. She seemed perfectly fine at the afternoon event. They sure are milking the “cancer” thing for all it’s worth, just to not talk about what’s really going on with the Wailses. Did anyone notice Kate shrugging of willy’s touch?
Or let’s just focus on trying to bring down the Happy couple In marvelous Montecito.
I think it looks uncomfortable and insulting from the guests’ point of view, that Kate and Camilla seemingly pick and choose which event they can be bothered to attend for them.
I don’t think Kate chose to skip this event.
God that David Beckham is so desperate for a knighthood he would attend the opening the opening of an envelope if the royals were doing it. You can’t tell that Charles and Camilla aren’t feeding the press stories , not with the head of the Daily Mail and Newscorps as guests. Harry really was telling the truth in Spare. A vast nest of vipers
David Beckham openly panting and drooling to lick some royal boots 😬 even his own wife looks embarrassed by him
“ The Telegraph also notes that Victoria and David were not seated side-by-side, and they were on opposite sides of the table.”
The Telegraph would know that this is the upper crust thing. It’s why Will and Kate were aghast at Harry and Meghan’s wedding that they had spouses sitting together.
I always think of Judi Dench in Pride & Prejudice “you can’t sit next to your wife!!”
It’s not necessarily a UK nobility thing either, as it’s done on the continent too.
The traditional idea behind it being a) making guests (from far away) comfortable by splitting up friends of the host and b) give the wives a chance to talk to someone not their husband and/or vice versa. Imagine couples that no longer talk who’d be exposed to society that way…
In the US, old etiquette had only “newlywed” spouses seated together, during the first year of marriage. After that, couples were always to be seated apart.
How much longer is David going to have to wait for that knighthood? It’s like he’s been campaigning for an Oscar for a decade.
Victoria looked very awkward and uncomfortable during the walk in, I wasn’t expecting that.
Victoria seems to have interpreted “modest” as goth.
David Beckham is so embarrassingly thirsty.
And Sophie looks like a nun who’s borrowed jewelry.
I glanced really quick at the header photo of Beckham and thought it was a picture of a young Burt Reynolds! How crazy is that?! His smile and his hair.
I thought it was Jeremy Renner.
David is pleased as punch. Find him so desperate sometimes so give that man a knighthood already. Victoria is looking very gothic in that very dark, tight gown and whippet thin. I generally like her style but she looks so gloomy, very Addams Family.
David Beckham being desperate as per usual. Victoria has an OBE, why can’t he just be happy for his wife and stop trying so hard ?
David is absolutely beside himself with joy , almost got his knighthood .
Also what on earth have they done to their faces , they look ridiculous .
I think David has a false hairpiece on to hide his baldness.He is full of himself with that smug grin.The man on the left of the photo is glaring at him
Horrible all the chav tattoos on his hands too
That dress most definitely is old, AND you can tell the skirt hem was quickly hemmed, because it’s not pressed and it balloons at the floor. Jacket and top are too big. Wonder if it’s hers at all…. maybe someone else in the family wore it? Is it Margaret’s? Even Anne at her fullest..this dress would probably would of been too big for her
Posh Spice looks constipated and David Beckham looks like a smirking chipmunk with all his bad facial work. That’s all I’ve got…
David Beckham hair do looks like a man wig and his wife looks like a chipmunk. I hope he gets his knighthood soon because if not we won’t be able to recognize either of them. They have changed their entire style.