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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
Josh O'Brien

David Beckham's emails hitting out at Queen's Honours list resurface amid fresh snub

He's arguably the country's most famous footballer, but David Beckham has once again found himself left off the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours list.

Just months after he was snubbed from the New Year's equivalent, the philanthropist and UNICEF ambassador has missed out on another knighthood.

The footballer has long been touted for the top honour - given his services not only to sport but also to charity, yet his wait for the esteemed title is set to continue with this latest disappointment.

READ MORE - Edinburgh Jubilee celebrations: What time do they start and what events are running

The 47-year-old enjoyed an incredibly illustrious football career and won the game's biggest accolades while donning the shirts of some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including Manchester United and Real Madrid, reports the Mirror.

His phenomenal success led to him becoming one of the most recognisable individuals in sport. Beckham recently agreed a deal to become one of the faces for the upcoming Qatar World Cup set to take place later this year.

Beckham already boasts one title in the form of an OBE, but it is thought that he has previously been ineligible for a knighthood due to his participation in a tax relief scheme that HM Revenue and Customs argued was a form of tax avoidance.

His chances took a further blow in 2017, when some damning leaked emails clearly showed that Beckham was furious with the decision to omit his name from the honours list. He was alleged to have branded the honours committee "unappreciative c***s" and insisted he didn't "care about being knighted".

The Champions League winner is also alleged to have written: "I expected nothing less. It's a disgrace to be honest and if I was American I would of [sic] got something like this 10 years ago."

Another message appeared to take aim at singer Katherine Jenkins for her OBE. "For what?" Beckham is alleged to have asked. "Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops..." Though Beckham has told friends he did write some of the emails, he has also claimed some of the messages had been "doctored".

A close friend of Beckham exclusively told The Mirror in 2017: "He is very calm at the moment because he knows the great work that he has done for UNICEF. But he is just saddened that people would question all of that work.

"Genuinely, he wasn't as vitriolic as that, but you do say some things in private and in the heat of the moment. To be honest, he does feel that he has given so much to his country. And sometimes you say things in private that anyone would say and you don't really mean it."

While he was frustrated in those emails, he was over it the moment he sent them. Getting the knighthood is not what his work is about. He doesn't care if he gets a knighthood or not."

Though Beckham has not made it onto this edition of the list, plenty of other notable figures and familiar faces have - including ones from the world of sport. Welsh international and current Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has received an MBE for his services to football and to charity.

Liverpool veteran James Milner has also picked up the same gong thanks to all of the charitable work his foundation conducts, while Rio Ferdinand has also been recognised. Presenter Claire Balding OBE has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to sport and to charity.

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