David and Victoria Beckham attend King's state banquet for Qatar Emir. Is knighthood near?

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attended their first-ever state banquet at the Buckingham Palace on Tuesday where the royals hosted the Emir of Qatar, his wife and their delegation. The news of Beckhams being a part of the event was kept a secret until the last minute. David Beckham was an ambassador for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and this was likely one reason why he was invited to the event.

The Emir of Qatar is on a two-day visit to the UK. King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince of Wales were at the grand event held in the palace's grand ballroom.

His participation has fuelled rumours that he might finally be knighted. Beckham has been a part of many royal events. In 2017, he was at the palace for his investiture with an OBE, and then again attended the Queen's Young Leader event in 2018. 

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Beckham was also named as an ambassador for The King's Foundation in June this year. The former Manchester United player said he was "honoured" to take on the role. Beckham also met the King this year where the two shared notes about beekeeping. The former footballer also helped Prince William raise funds for the London Air Ambulance. 

Sir David Beckham soon?

Last year, Beckham had talked about his reasons for agreeing to become the ambassador of the Qatar World Cup wherein he signed a £125 million ($158 million) deal despite questions being raised over Qatar's human rights record. He told the Daily Telegraph: "I do a lot of research into partners that I’m going into business with. And I wanted to be involved in another World Cup."

The topic of Beckham's knighthood came up at the King's Foundation awards ceremony in June this year when Sir Rod Stewart said teasingly that knighthood would be "coming soon" for him. 

Knighthood for Beckham has also kept social media abuzz where his fans often say that it's time for him to be honoured. Beckham has played 115 matches for his country and was crucial in helping the UK secure the London 2012 Olympics.