King turns to David Beckham to rebuild charity hit by cash-for-honours scandal

King Charles has turned to brand Beckham to help him rebuild the reputation of his main charitable foundation after a cash-for-honours scandal.

Former England footballer David Beckham is to become an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, formerly the Prince’s Foundation, to help promote its work. Beckham met the monarch at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire last month, where he was given a personal tour. The 49-year-old said he was looking forward to exploring a newly discovered shared interest with the monarch in rural skills, nature and the British countryside. They had also swapped beekeeping tips, said Beckham.

The foundation, which offers educational programmes to up to 15,000 people a year to create sustainable communities, has been embroiled in controversy following claims of “cash for access” and allegations that then chief executive, Michael Fawcett offered to secure Saudi billionaire, Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, a knighthood and UK citizenship in return for donations. At the time, Clarence House said the Prince of Wales had “no knowledge” of the allegations and Mahfouz denied any wrongdoing. The charity launched an inquiry into the claims in 2021, and, in 2022 the Metropolitan police investigated. Last year, it said it would take no action.

Beckham, who is said to have built a £455m fortune with his wife, Victoria, has not made a donation to the foundation but will offer his time to promote its work, joining other celebrity ambassadors including chef Raymond Blanc, The Great British Sewing Bee’s Patrick Grant and TV presenter Sarah Beeny. The foundation is based at the king’s flagship restoration project, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, but also operates from Highgrove, various sites in London, and at locations overseas.

During his tour of Highgrove, Beckham met students taking part in woodworking courses at the Snowdon School of Furniture, and embroidery students on a Métiers d’art Embroidery Fellowship.

Beckham later said: “Having developed a love for the countryside, I’m also on a personal mission to learn more about rural skills, which is so central to the foundation’s work. It was inspiring to hear from the king about the work of his majesty’s foundation during my recent visit to Highgrove gardens – and compare beekeeping tips.”

Beckham was appointed an OBE for services to football in 2003. There have been claims that he was frustrated not to have received a higher honour. Emails leaked in 2017 suggested he was furious he had been left off the honours list in 2014. He was alleged to have complained: “It’s a disgrace to be honest and if I was American I would of got something like this 10 years ago.” His representatives said at the time that the emails had been “doctored” and taken out of context.

Beckham faced criticism over his role as an ambassador for the Fifa World Cup in Qatar in 2022. He was paid a reported £150m for the work and accused of profiting from a country facing serious questions over its record on human rights, including its treatment of women and the LGBTQ+ community. He argued that sport had the power to be a force for good in the world and that holding the World Cup in Qatar had stimulated debate about the issues.

Last week, Beckham signed up to be a global ambassador for AliExpress, an online retail platform owned by the Chinese tech group Alibaba and a sponsor of the Euro 2024 tournament starting this month.