David Beckham receives knighthood in King Charles' birthday honors list for services to sport

Soccer legend David Beckham, a sporting icon and one of the world's most recognizable faces, has received a knighthood from King Charles III for services to sport and charity, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.

LONDON — British soccer legend David Beckham, a sporting icon and one of the world's most recognizable faces, has received a knighthood from King Charles III for services to sport and charity, Buckingham Palace announced Friday.

“Growing up in east London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honor," Beckham said in a statement issued Friday through the Press Association news agency.

The award, the highest Britain's antiquated honors system can bestow, was almost inevitable given Beckham's success as a player and his contribution to the country's culture. For years, Britons have wondered how he had not already been elevated to Sir David.

He gets the "gong," as it's known in British parlance, as part of the king's birthday honors list, which rewards notable people from across British society.

David Beckham speaks with King Charles III at the Chelsea Flower Show in London on May 20. Paul Grove / Getty ImagesThe move also means his famous wife, Spice Girl-turned-fashion mogul Victoria, will now be known as Lady Beckham. Their marriage in 1999 made them Britain's most famous couple and near-permanent fixtures in tabloid newspapers and magazines, an obsession that has lasted into the age of social media.