They are two of the most famous couples in the world, who once enjoyed a close friendship. But relations between the Beckhams and the Sussexes seem to have soured significantly in recent years.

Initially, the foursome were said to be close, with David and Victoria eager to make Meghan feel welcome in the UK. In fact, there were reports that Victoria had given Meghan access to her little black book of her favourite hairdressers and stylists in London.

But this marked a turning point for the couples. When private details concerning their friendship – including Victoria’s offers of help – started cropped up in the news, Meghan reportedly suspected Victoria had ‘leaked’ them – promoting a ‘mortifying’ phone conversation between their husbands.

On the awkward chat, a source told The Sun: “Harry was very polite, but obviously it was a pretty awkward exchange and David was mortified. Inexplicably, [Meghan] feared Victoria was behind it — I mean, the idea that Victoria Beckham would be personally ringing journalists to give them a scoop is ridiculous — and spoke to Harry about it.

“Harry is very protective of Meghan, and decided to deal with the matter head-on, by directly contacting his good pal, David. He quickly put Harry right, and the two men agreed to move on — but it certainly made things awkward for a while.”

Indeed, David and Victoria were invited to attend Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018 – but they did not receive an invitation for the wedding dinner, which is said to have irked the couple.

A short time later, the royals headed off on a tour of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, which coincided with the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney. Harry had asked David to be an ambassador for the Invictus Games with the former footballer travelling Down Under for the event.

But things turned sour when the Prince reportedly refused to see David in Sydney. It was claimed that the reason Harry was keeping his friend at arms’ length was Meghan – who still feared Victoria was leaking stories about her to the press.

More recently there have been signs that all has not been right between the Sussexes and the Beckhams. In 2022 when David and Victoria’s eldest son Brooklyn married actress Nicola Peltz in a lavish wedding in Florida, Harry and Meghan were nowhere to be seen.

Similarly, last summer when David welcomed football superstar Lionel Messi to his Inter Miami team, a star-studded crowd were in attendance for his debut. But again the Sussexes weren’t there.

It’s thought that one major issue between the Sussexes and the Beckhams is David’s close connection to Prince William and King Charles.

Like Harry, William has known David and Victoria for many years and the Beckhams were in Westminster Abbey when he married Kate Middleton back in 2011. In fact, Kate has worn a Victoria Beckham dress and sunglasses on outings in the past. And in 2022, David joined both William and Kate when they travelled to Boston for the Prince of Waleses’ second annual Earthshot Prize awards, where he presented one of the prizes at one of William’s main projects.

David was also recently named a King’s Foundation ambassador by King Charles. In photographs released to mark the announcement, the sportstar was pictured with the King on the doorstep of Highgrove, Charles’ Gloucestershire retreat, and shown trying out his carpentry skills with foundation students taking part in woodworking courses at the Snowdon School of Furniture.

The pair also swapped beekeeping tips as both have hives, with David saying: “Having developed a love for the countryside I’m also on a personal mission to learn more about rural skills which is so central to the foundation’s work. It was inspiring to hear from the King about the work of His Majesty’s foundation during my recent visit to Highgrove Gardens – and compare beekeeping tips!”

Earlier this week, the two men caught up again at the inaugural King’s Foundation awards at Buckingham Palace – and were on very friendly terms as they chatted about football and discussed England’s chances in the Euro 2024 championships.

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