Manchester United and England footballing legend David Beckham has again been snubbed for a knighthood in the New Year's Honours.
The 47-year-old, who earned 115 caps for his country, 59 of those as captain, was awarded an OBE during his playing career in 2003. However, he has never been bestowed with the country's highest honour, much to many fans' bemusement.
And the global star, a treble winner with United in 1999, has again been passed over, with his name a notable absentee from the list of those to be bestowed with honours by the new King, Charles III, in his first New Year's Honours list.
The former Real Madrid and AC Milan player has devoted a lot of time to charity, serving as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and supporting a number of other charitable organisations.
When he moved to Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his playing career, in 2013, he donated his earnings to local children's charities.
"The money doesn’t interest me, I want to play for the best team, the best club," he said at the time. “I won’t receive any salary. We have decided my salary will go towards a local children’s charity and that’s one of the things we’re very excited and proud to do."
This year he received widespread acclaim for not using his name and influence in order to jump the queue to see The Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall.
The star waited 13 hours in the queue which snaked down the River Thames to pay his respects to the late monarch and was visibly in tears as he passed her coffin. Afterwards, he spoke warmly of meeting her when he received his OBE.
"The most special moment for me was to receive my OBE," he said. "I took my grandparents with me, who were the ones that really brought me up to be a huge royalist and a fan of the royal family, and obviously I had my wife there as well.
"To step up, to get my honour, but then also Her Majesty, to ask questions, to talk, I was so lucky that I was able to have a few moments like that in my life, to be around Her Majesty.
"Because we can all see with the love that has been shown, how special she is and how special she was and the legacy that she leaves behind."
However, he did receive criticism for his role as ambassador for the World Cup held in Qatar this winter.
The comedian Joe Lycett was among those to call on Beckham to step down from his role fronting the tournament due to Qatar’s human rights record, particularly its stance on homosexuality.
Comic Mr Lycett threatened to shred £10,000 of his own money as well as Beckham’s status as “a gay icon" if he didn't do so.
A spokesperson for the star did eventually respond, issuing a statement to Mr Lycett which was read out during a special edition of his 'Got Your Back' show on Channel 4 earlier this month
It said: "David has been involved in a number of World Cups and other major international tournaments both as a player and an ambassador and he has always believed that sport has the power to be a force for good in the world.
"Football, the most popular sport globally, has a genuine ability to bring people together and make a real contribution to communities.
"We understand that there are different and strongly held views about engagement in the Middle East but see it as positive that debate about the key issues has been stimulated directly by the first World Cup being held in the region.
“We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy towards all people and that progress will be achieved."
The Honours and Appointments Secretariat in the Cabinet Office coordinates the operation of the honours system. It provides administrative support to the independent honours committees which consider nominations. All honours are approved by the monarch.
Among those honoured this year are actors, musicians, business leaders, civil servants and sports stars.
Some of the famous names on the list include musician Brian May and artist Grayson Perry, who have both been knighted, Lioness captain Leah Williamson, who is being made an OBE, comedian Frank Skinner who has been made an MBE and actor Stephen Graham has become an OBE.
However, there are hundreds of community heroes, charity champions and campaigners who have also been recognised for raising awareness around a particular issue.
Among those on the list is the father of murdered Greater Manchester Police officer Nicola Hughes. Bryn Hughes has been made an MBE for his work supporting young people who have suffered loss due to violent crime.
Read more of today's headlines here
READ NEXT:
-
Manchester's celebrity haunt restaurants and bars - where the stars partied in 2022
-
Stockport’s hero takeaway boss in tears after surprise visit live on Good Morning Britain
-
Heartwarming card leaves village restaurant staff in tears on Christmas Day
-
'Laughing' customers 'ruined everyone's night' at restaurant, bosses say
