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Their £1million union was splashed across the pages of OK! magazine and was described as the ‘wedding of the decade’ after it outshone the nuptials of Prince Edward and his bride Sophie Rhys-Jones.
Now, as David and Victoria Beckham celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, it has emerged that Buckingham Palace was inundated with letters for Posh and Becks after they moved into their first marital home.
According to the Spice Girls’ publicist Alan Edwards, the Royal Mail confused the Beckhams’ love nest Rowneybury – their mansion on the border of Hertfordshire and Essex that was dubbed ‘Beckingham Palace’ – with the monarch’s official London home.
Reflecting on their wedding ceremony ahead of today’s anniversary, he told The Sun: ‘This was a worldwide publicity event, and we knew the interest was akin to that around a royal wedding.
‘In fact, we’d had a complaint from Buckingham Palace saying that they kept getting letters addressed to David and Victoria at Beckingham Palace!’
The marriage even hit the radar of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh: they refused to sit on thrones during the 2012 Jubilee River Pageant in case they looked like the Beckhams, who famously posed on thrones during their 1999 wedding.
When asked why the couple hadn’t sat on the red velvet chairs on the Royal barge, Prince Philip told close friend Gyles Brandreth: ‘Well we’d have looked like Mr and Mrs Beckham, wouldn’t we?’
David and Victoria Beckham’s £1 million union was splashed across the pages of OK! magazine and was described as the ‘wedding of the decade’ after it outshone the nuptials of Prince Edward and his bride Sophie Rhys-Jones. Above: The couple on their wedding day at Luttrellstown Castle in Dublin
According to the Spice Girls ‘ publicist Alan Edwards, the Royal Mail confused their love nest Rowneybury (above) – their mansion on the border of Hertfordshire and Essex that was dubbed ‘Beckingham Palace’ – with the monarch’s official London home
The Beckhams, who have four children, have mixed in royal circles for more than two decades – since Victoria was a Spice Girl and David was a high-flying footballer.
In 1997, after the death of Princess Diana, Victoria and her fellow Spice Girls joined the then Prince Charles and a star-struck Harry on a royal tour of South Africa to perform a charity concert.
The singer-turned-designer, who gave an interview to The Spectator magazine in which she aired her love of the monarchy, also met the Queen at a Royal Variety show the same year.
And, two years later, she met the Duchess of York when Fergie took Beatrice, then 11, and Eugenie, nine to watch a Spice Girls concert.
At the turn of the century, there were another Royal meet and greet at the Party in the Park, in aid of The Prince’s Trust, when Prince Charles met the couple afterwards.
And, in 2002, at the opening of the Commonwealth Games, David, who was England football captain, handed the baton to the Queen.
David Beckham and Victoria Adams in July 1999 sitting on their Wedding throne chairs in 1999
Prince Philip refused to sit on the thrones during the The Queen’s diamond Jubilee river pageant as he said they would look like ‘Mr and Mrs Beckham’
David and Victoria Beckham on their wedding day. They later changed into garish purple outfits
David and Victoria changed into matching purple outfits for the evening party
Buckingham Palace was mistaken for ‘Beckingham Palace’ around the time of the wedding
The Buckingham Palace post room was receiving letters addressed to David and Victoria at ‘Beckingham Palace’. Above: A staff member in the Palace post room in the year 2000
David and Victoria with baby Brooklyn as they prepared to fly to Ireland for their wedding
David holding baby son Brooklyn alongside Victoria on their wedding day
Their friendship with the Cambridges began when David, then playing for US team LA Galaxy, was part of the team bidding to host the World Cup.
He travelled with Princes William and Harry to meet FIFA officials in 2010 and, although the bid was unsuccessful, it cemented a friendship with William, who was and remains President of the FA.
The couple went onto be invited to the 2011 wedding of William and Kate, but David made a social faux pas when he wore his OBE on his right lapel rather than his left.
‘We had to pinch ourselves when we got the invite,’ he said afterwards.
‘I’ve become friends with Prince William and Harry as well.
‘We was (sic) brought up to love the Royal Family and when Princess Di was around, the love for her was incredible. The Royal Wedding gave our country a huge lift.’
David handing the baton to the Queen at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester
Mr & Mrs Beckham were invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding but unfortunately David made a faux pas by wearing his OBE medal on the right hand side
Beckham was quickly informed and a picture taken inside showed how the medal had been moved to the star’s left lapel
Charles recently appointed Beckham as an ambassador for his charity the King’s Foundation . The King gave Beckham a tour of his beloved Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, where the pair swapped beekeeping tips
During Britain’s Olympic year, in 2012, David even teamed up with the Duchess of Cambridge to present the BBC Sports Personality of the Year to cyclist Bradley Wiggins.
But it was their friendship with Fergie and Andrew which caused a real furore.
Having been invited to a tea party at Buckingham Palace for daughter Harper’s sixth birthday in 2017, David posted a photograph on Instagram of the youngster in a Princess Elsa costume from the film Frozen.
Posed in the Palace’s front quadrangle, where photographs are banned, a Palace insider described it as a ‘serious breach of protocol’ and the then Prince Charles was deemed to be ‘seismic with rage’.
However, Charles clearly did not hold a grudge, for he recently appointed Beckham as an ambassador for his charity the King’s Foundation.
The King gave Beckham a tour of his beloved Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, where the pair swapped beekeeping tips.
The move increased speculation that Beckham’s long-held dream of a knighthood might soon be a reality.
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