Are Chas and Dave the new Posh ‘n’ Becks? As David Beckham is made an ambassador for the King’s charity, CLAUDIA CONNELL reveals the parallels between him and Charles
One is a heavily tattooed former footballer from humble beginnings, the other is the King of the United Kingdom and 14 commonwealth realms.
Now, David Beckham has been appointed an ambassador for His Majesty’s charity, the King’s Foundation.
You would be forgiven for thinking the pair have nothing in common other than their vast fortunes – but you would be wrong.
Here, CLAUDIA CONNELL celebrates all the similarities shared by Chas and Dave – the new Posh n Becks.
David Beckham with King Charles at Highgrove recently. He has just been announced as an ambassador for the King’s Foundation
The bee’s knees
When Becks and the King met at his Majesty’s estate at Highgrove ahead of the ambassador announcement at the start of this month, they bonded and chatted over their mutual love of bee keeping.
Charles – who in 1999 looked comfortable in a beekeeping suit when he visited an organic farm in Buenos Aires – has hives at his Gloucestershire home, while David keeps them at his country house in Oxfordshire.
Earlier in the year David presented Charles with a jar of his home-made honey – D’Beez Sticky Stuff.
Charles joked that they should do a taste comparison test with his own Duchy Originals honey.
It remains to be seen which one tastes the sweeter, but I think we all know which has the more tasteful name…
David offered the King a jar of his home produced honey during a special industry event hosted by the British Fashion Council last year
King Charles and David Beckham bonded over their mutual love of bee-keeping when they met at Highgrove recently. Above: Beckham with one of his hives; the King sniffing a jar of honey during a visit to Devon, 2019
King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, wears a protective suit during a visit to an organic farm in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1999
Hunks in trunks
Never shy about showing off his buff body, we’ve seen plenty of pictures of David in his pants due to his voluminous modelling work.
Still fabulously fit at 49, David looks sensational in a pair of swimming trunks too, whether tiny budgie smugglers or more modest Bermudas.
The King may not have done any underwear commercials for Armani or H&M and we’ll probably never seen him in Speedos but His Majesty once had a toned and trim physique.
As a young man visiting Australia in 1981, he set pulses racing when he swam in the ocean in his trunks.
More recently, Charles rocked some floral swimwear while on holiday with Camilla in Barbados.
David wearing Versace swimming shorts on the beach in Greece during a holiday in 2020
As a young man visiting Australia in April 1981, he set pulses racing when he swam in the ocean in his trunks
Dapper dressers
Whether smart and formal or pared down and casual, both men are super sharp dressers.
It takes a certain swagger to pull off the suit look but both Charles and David do this with ease.
The King uses tailors Turnball & Asser and Anderson & Sheppard to make his formal outfits.
In the past, Beckham has used Saville Row tailors Kathryn Sargent and Richard James.
As these pictures show, both men are super sharp dressers and have been frequently top of the best dressed lists. Above: Beckham and the King at separate events in 2018,
Some of the King’s clothes are older than David. His John Partridge wax jackets have patches on the patches. Above: David in his country idyll; the King on his Llwynywermod estate in Wales in 2012
Having just signed a commercial deal with Hugo Boss, David now wears suits by their chief designer Loro Piana.
When playing lord of the manor, David looks the part in his Barbour wax jackets, fleece gilets by Outdoor and Country and peaked caps from Lock & Co.
Wellies are courtesy of Le Chameau, a big favourite with the Princess of Wales.
But nobody does fuss-free country dressing like the King. Some of his clothes are older than David.
His John Partridge wax jackets have been patched so many times there are patches on the patches.
Love their chicks
The King lready keeps a small number of hens at Highgrove, including Dutch Wellsummers and French Maran, which supply dark speckled eggs to the Royal household
For Christmas last year, Victoria bought husband David a flock of chickens, a rooster and a coop for them all to live in at their £6million Cotswold’s house.
David loves to cook with the eggs, while Posh Spice likes to make jokes on her social media pages about her husband’s ‘big cock.’
Charles is also an enthusiastic hen keeper. Like his new bestie, he delights in collecting the eggs.
Chances are his wife, Camilla, who is said to love a smutty joke, probably has a few wisecracks of her own…. she just keeps them off Instagram.
City gents, country squires
As working men, both David and Charles have a London residence (well, Charles has four but there’s only one he calls home.)
Clarence House is where the King lives when in the capital, preferring to keep the nearby Buckingham Palace for official business.
David has made it well known that he loves nothing better than putting on his wellies and Barbour and playing country squire. Above: Beckham’s estate in the Cotswolds
The King has many country residences but his favourite place in the world is Highgrove
He also has many country residences but his favourite place in the world is Highgrove, his country estate in Gloucestershire.
During the week, David and Victoria live in their £30million London townhouse.
But there’s nothing Becks loves more than donning his wellies and Barbour and playing country squire at his sprawling estate in Oxfordshire – just a 40-minute tractor ride away from Highgrove.
Horse and hounds
To be a true country gent you must enjoy the sport of kings, live in houses that smell of wet dog and wear clothes covered in the hound’s hair.
The King no longer plays polo but still rides for relaxation. David is not quite so keen but daughter Harper is thought to have a pony
A skilled horseman, The King no longer plays polo but still rides for relaxation.
David is not quite so comfortable in the saddle, although he was pictured riding during a visit to a ranch in LA.
However, daughter Harper is a keen rider and is thought to have her own pony.
David with his family’s three spaniels, Olive, Sage and Fig. Right: Charles feeding his Jack Russell at a polo ground in the 1970s
When it comes to mutts, both are devoted doggy daddies.
Charles is now hugely fond of Bluebell and Beth, Camilla’s two Jack Russell rescues from Battersea Dog’s Home.
Over at Chez Beckham, Simba the cockapoo is the most recent addition to the family and joins their German Shephard Logan and three spaniels: Olive, Sage and Fig.
Queen Camilla with her Jack Russell terriers Bluebell and Beth durinv a visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in 2012
Sports cars
Chas and Dave are both petrol heads, except these days our environmentally conscious monarch has had some of his fleet converted so that they can run on bioethanol, a fuel derived from cheese and wine.
Charles driving his Aston Martin DB5 Volante at Cirencester Park Polo Club in the year 2000
Global Brand Ambassador David Beckham attends the opening of the new Maserati showroom, 2023
The King’s collection includes a rare (one of only eight) Rolls Royce Phantom IV and his prized Aston Martin DB6 Volante, a 21st birthday gift from his mother, now worth around £600,000.
David also owns at least two Aston Martins (as well as assorted Bentleys, Rolls’, Maseratis and Land Rovers).
Four years ago, Becks sold his red Aston Martin AMV8 Volante for £445,000 via Auto Trader. For that price, let’s hope he threw in a couple of jars of honey.
Witty wives
Both men have strong, happy marriages to feisty women known for their wicked sense of fun.
The famous Posh and Becks interview with Michael Parkinson, where Victoria revealed her new special nickname for her husband, ‘Golden Balls’!
There is never a Braemar games without Camilla leaning over to crack a joke in her husband’s very amused ear
Despite being famous for her pout, friends say that Victoria has a sharp wit and sense of humour, as we saw in David’s Netflix series, Beckham.
The ‘be honest’ scene where Victoria claims to be working class (despite the fact her dad did the school run in a Rolls Royce) has spawned thousands of memes.
In 2001, she revealed to TV interviewer Michael Parkinson that she calls her husband ‘Golden Balls’. The nickname stuck.
Likewise, although much more private than Mrs Beckham, Queen Camilla is known for her great – and often risqué – sense of humour.
In his book, Charles III: New King, New Court, the Mail’s Robert Hardman revealed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak describes her Majesty as ‘uproariously funny.’
Sailing on super yachts
The King may beat Becks hands down when it comes to the number of properties owned but – unlike our monarch – David has his own yacht.
The King may beat Becks hands down when it comes to the number of properties owned but – unlike our monarch – David has his own yacht. Above: Beckham on board a superyacht in Sardinia in 2022; Charles with his first wife Princess Diana and the King of Spain Juan Carlos on his yacht Fortuna in 1990
The Beckham family recently upgraded their £5million starter yacht to a £16million spectacular 130-footer named Seven, in honour of Beckham’s old jersey number and their daughter Harper.
Poor old Charlie hasn’t had his own superyacht since Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned in 1997.
Not to worry though, he still gets invited aboard some pretty nice boats.
In 2017, when Prince of Wales, he and Camilla holidayed in Corfu aboard OKTO, the £50million yacht owned by Greek shipping magnet Theodore Angelopoulos.
Surely David would let Charles and Camilla charter Seven for a few days if they asked nicely?
Stylish in a skirt
The picture of Beckham in France in 1999 wearing a sarong turned him into an international style icon – but Charles was looking stylish in skirts long before.
From his teenage years through to today, the King has embraced kilt wearing.
The King could turn out in his own tartan – which is woven from Scottish wool – at the Braemar Gathering in September.
As for Becks, it’s been 25 years since he was last seen in a skirt. Come on David, raise your game.
The picture of Beckham in France in 1999 wearing a sarong (left) turned him into an international style icon – but Charles was looking stylish in skirts long before. From his teenage years through to today, the King has embraced kilt wearing. Above: Charles in a kilt during an engagement in Scotland last year
