The Beckhams spent half a million pounds to give a good send-off to the English football team as they left for Germany for the World Cup.
London: It was to be the party of the year and befitting the Beckhams’ titles as King David and Queen Victoria, the royal couple of English football.
But like many other truly royal events, the evening was dogged by disasters.
The Beckhams spent half a million pounds to give a good send-off to the English football team as they left for Germany for the World Cup next month, but ‘Posh’ as she is known due to her Spice Girls fame, was left berating organisers ‘like a lunatic’, as her plans came crashing down.
The mansion in Hertforshire, known fondly as Beckingham Palace, was decked up with a football pitch sized marquee to hold the 500 celebrity guests, but the rain gods decided to pour and there were fears that the place would be flooded even before the guests arrived.
A flypast of Battle of Britain planes, arranged amidst protests that it was in bad taste because of Britain’s history with Germany during World War II, had to be abandoned because of bad weather. Even the fireworks display organised to round off the evening was a damp squib thanks to the torrential downpour.
The guest list had been drawn up to include the who’s who of Britain, including Prime Minister Tony Blair and heir to the throne Prince Charles, but neither of the star guests could attend because of ‘prior commitments’.
Instead, royalty was represented by Sarah, Duchess of York and her eldest teenage daughter Princess Beatrice who has become the much-disgraced duchess’ party-partner.
The political brigade was led by the leader of the opposition David Cameron who ironically hadn’t been invited and had to wangle an invite ‘from a friend of a friend’.
The England football team with their wives and girlfriends were out in full force, but injury-hit Wayne Rooney appeared sullen all evening and refused to wave at autograph-hunters.
Manager Sven Goran Eriksson also turned up with girlfriend Nancy Dell’Olio.
Other guests included rap star P Diddy, former Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown, Hollywood actor Christian Slater who is currently acting in a west-end stage production and other second-rung English celebrities. Elton John and husband David Furnish were busy with another charity event in Nice.
Victoria had themed the party on Spain and begged the King of Spain to attend, but he couldn’t oblige. The celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay refused to do Spanish food and insisted on dishing up English fare, and to make matters worse, Ramsay tore a muscle playing football of all things and was seen hobbling around the marquee on crutches.
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