Long before his 2025 knighthood, David Beckham was forging a close relationship with the royal family.
Not only did he attend the weddings of the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, he also attended Harry's Invictus Games tournament in Sydney, Australia in 2018, while in 2014, David teamed up with William to support a campaign with United for Wildlife, which aims to protect animals from illegal poaching. He also joined the Prince and Princess of Wales at William's environmental Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston in November 2022.
With such an enduring relationship with the royals, which is only set to be stronger now he's a sir, it's no surprise that the former footballer is following in the Princess of Wales' footsteps with his latest move.
It was announced today that David will be supporting horticulturist and Gardeners’ World presenter Frances Tophill as she designs a space for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show – something Princess Kate did in 2019, when she designed the RHS Back to Nature garden for the Chelsea Flower Show.
David Beckham's garden
A keen gardener at his and Victoria Beckham's Cotswolds home, where David keeps bees and chickens, the father-of-four will be involved in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show project as an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, which is working with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to create the garden.
The garden is set to be named The RHS and The King’s Foundation Curious Garden, aiming to encourage visitors to discover the joy of getting curious about gardening and the vital contribution plants make to the health of people, places and the planet – something David has experience in, calling the calming hobby "rewarding".
Sir David shared his interest in gardening on social media, revealing: "My love for the countryside started when I was a child visiting my grandparents. I've experienced how rewarding gardening can be and that’s why I'm looking forward to working with The RHS and The King's Foundation on their Curious Garden at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. I hope we inspire people to get outside into nature and to try something new."
Princess Kate has spoken warmly about nature, too. In May of this year, when she launched her video series titled "Mother Nature" promising a quarterly celebration of the untamed beauty of the changing seasons across the UK, she said: "Over the past year, nature has been my sanctuary. The natural world's capacity to inspire us, to nurture us and help us heal and grow is boundless and has been understood for generations. "
Revisiting Princess Kate's Back to Nature garden
Though we have a while to wait before we can catch a glimpse of David's contribution to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, we can revisit Princess Kate's 2019 creation, which saw the mother-of-three collaborate with award-winning landscape architects Andrée Davis and Adam White to create the garden, which featured interactive elements and toys just like those her three children have at home, including a swing seat, a campfire and rustic den.
We wonder if there will be touches of David's beloved Cotswolds garden in his RHS creation…