I’ve tended to take the view that many so-called national treasures are in fact national irritations, not least because national treasuredom is sometimes accompanied by a certain smugness. On the list above, Stephen Fry, Ant and Dec, and David Beckham come into that category – and I find it odd that Fry scores more than three times better than Paul McCartney.
Long ago David Beckham was just a harmless-enough bloke who was pretty good at hoofing a football about. OK, for some reason he married a not very talented pop star, but there’s nowt so queer as folk (as we Southerners say).
But then it became all about relentless self-promotion; endless showing-off; and an unhealthy obsession with making more and more money.
Also, perhaps he’s not as nice as he makes out? Take this, from a piece by Carol Midgley in yesterday’s
Times:
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Did you see David Beckham’s deliciously awkward moment at Wimbledon? Imagine his horror when he took his seat in the Royal Box… and discovered that sitting directly behind him was the opera singer Katherine Jenkins.
Why was it awks? Oh, just that in a series of leaked emails published in 2017 Beckham allegedly questioned why Jenkins had got an OBE, calling it a “fucking joke”.
“Katherine Jenkins OBE for what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops, plus taking coke. Fucking joke,” the former footballer reportedly wrote.
It’s unclear why he picked on Jenkins but he did call the honours committee “unappreciative cunts” (allegedly) for not giving him a knighthood. ____________________
Personally, I rather admire people who
decline knighthoods. Over the course of the past 60 years, the list includes Peter O'Toole, David Bowie, L.S. Lowry, Roald Dahl, Stephen Hawking, Albert Finney and David Hockney.
Quite a few former national treasures there...
