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<\/p>\nAcademics in politics, sociology and history at Northeastern University in London look at the significance and origins of the U.K. honors system.<\/p>\n
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Ex-footballer David Beckham was given a knighthood in King Charles\u2019 Birthday Honours. (AP Photo\/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool, File)<\/p>\n
LONDON \u2014 \u201cArise Sir David,\u201d will come the call from King Charles when he formally makes ex-footballer David Beckham a knight of the British realm.<\/p>\n
The former free-kick maestro and co-owner of Inter Miami football club will have a sword ceremonially \u201cdubbed\u201d on each shoulder by the British sovereign as he joins a modern brigade of sport stars, musicians, TV personalities and everyday citizens to be given a U.K. honor.<\/p>\n
Due to join him in the rank of knight at a royal investiture ceremony will be Roger Daltry, lead singer of the rock band The Who, and actor Gary Oldman, who starred in Christopher Nolan\u2019s Batman trilogy.<\/p>\n
All three were announced<\/a> as part of the King\u2019s Birthday Honours in which more than 1,200 people from across the U.K., ranging from age 11 to 106, were recognized, with knighthoods and damehoods being two of the highest ranking awards<\/a> handed out.<\/p>\n Josephine Harmon<\/a>, an assistant professor in political science at Northeastern University in London, says the knighting is partly about modern Britain\u2019s projection of itself on the world stage.<\/p>\n \u201cThe knighthood system is sending out signals about Britain\u2019s cultural exports,\u201d says Harmon, \u201cwhether it is soccer and David Beckham, The Beatles or whether it is Gary Oldman being known for playing all these different acting parts.<\/p>\n \u201cIt says something about the country and the fact that we think of ourselves as punching above our weight in cultural terms. After the economic and relative decline after the age of empire, Britain pivoted its image of itself and what it does as a country within the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPart of that was famously about financial services and other services. But another major part is our cultural sector and the way that we export our music, our films, our playwrights and whatever else. The honors system is related to that image of modern Britain.\u201d<\/p>\n People can be nominated, and the monarch announces a new set of recipients twice a year in the birthday and New Year\u2019s lists. The choices are vetted and approved by a committee beforehand. Other times, honors are given when Parliament has completed a full term, known as dissolution honors, or when a prime minister resigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGongs,\u201d as they are colloquially known, are typically given to well-known personalities, government employees and ordinary people who have served their community with distinction.<\/p>\n Beckham, who previously played for Manchester United and Real Madrid and is estimated to be the eighth highest-paid athlete of all time<\/a>, is a rare breed in that he is known to have publicly courted a knighthood. Leaked emails from 2013, published four years later, used colorful language to express his displeasure<\/a> at being snubbed for a knighthood, allegedly calling the British knighting system an expletive.<\/p>\n A \u201cred flag\u201d had reportedly<\/a> been raised by the U.K. tax office concerning Beckham\u2019s financial investments, an issue that held up any chance of a knighthood until it was cleared in 2021. But after having been a regular attendee at royal events and weddings \u2014 along with Spice Girl wife Victoria \u2014 carrying out charitable works<\/a> and having already been bestowed with the lesser honor of Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003, he has been given the top accolade of a knighthood.<\/p>\n Beckham\u2019s elevation, says Gergana Dimova<\/a>, associate professor in politics and sociology, gives the monarchy a chance to align itself with one of Britain\u2019s most-recognized and high-profile cultural stars and offers the opportunity to modernize itself in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cThe modern monarchy is constantly reinventing itself,\u201d says the London-based Northeastern academic, \u201cand one of the most viable ways for it to stay relevant in the age of social media is to reach out to celebrities.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDavid Beckham is the ultimate celebrity as he has managed to galvanize his sports success into a palpable public presence. A testimony to the power of his image is that he has 88.2 million followers on Instagram and earns around $40 million from brand endorsements. He is the epitome of the good looking, successful, modern man.\u201d<\/p>\n Dimova says a knighthood and damehood can also allow the recipient to reform or reinforce their own image. In Beckham\u2019s case, it offers the chance for the newly minted \u201cSir David,\u201d who comes from a working-class background, to align himself with the establishment.<\/p>\n \u201cKnighthood is mutually beneficial,\u201d continues Dimova. \u201cBy accepting the knighthood, Beckham moves from the realm of new money to the polished world of tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n Beckham, 50, seemed to recognize that journey himself when he said after the announcement: \u201cGrowing 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Similarly, others, such as pop star David Bowie<\/a> and film director Danny Boyle<\/a>, turned down knighthoods so as not to be seen as tied to the establishment or the institution of the monarchy.\u00a0<\/p>\n While becoming a knight or dame does not come with any formal elevated position, Harmon argues that there is still an undefined authority that arises from being afforded the distinction. In fact, people who fall below the standard expected of those holding the rank can be stripped of their honor, as was seen when Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s courtier Anthony Blunt<\/a> was ousted as a spy for Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there are certain forms of power which are not tangible,\u201d Harmon says. \u201cAn honor doesn\u2019t involve legal powers over people. But there is this cultural, social authority that you get just from this title and from this recognition that people are impressed by it.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.K. is not alone in having such a system for recognizing citizens\u2019 achievements, Harmon points out. In the U.S., the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal are given to citizens for their merits. But it is the history of the British honors system that helps to set it apart.<\/p>\n