EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Looking pleased at his first state banquet at Buckingham Palace, is David Beckham more optimistic about that long-craved knighthood?

Looking pleased as punch at his first state banquet at Buckingham Palace, is David Beckham increasingly optimistic about that long-craved knighthood? While his appointment as an ambassador to HM’s charity the King’s Foundation was deemed an encouraging sign earlier this year, Beckham’s complicated tax affairs have been viewed as a possible barrier. F****** joke.’ Looking pleased as punch at his first state banquet at Buckingham Palace, is David Beckham increasingly optimistic about that long-craved knighthood?, writes Ephraim Hardcastle Becks wore his 2003 OBE medal at this week’s state banquet – and on the correct lapel. King Charles III with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, London, during the state visit to the UK of the Emir of Qatar and the first of his three wives Queen Camilla with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani ahead of a state banquet at Buckingham Palace Sadly no sign of the finest royal bling received by the late Queen on her 1979 state visit to the gas-rich kingdom – including three gold horses encrusted with emeralds and diamonds, along with her first gold handbag.