In the Beckham Palace, Miami’s new royal couple

They have not yet set up their boxes there but do not hide their ambitions: David and Victoria Beckham want to become the “new king and queen of Miami”. The residence that they have just acquired for almost 80 million dollars already has a nickname: “It’s Beckingham Palace”, they like to say in the neighborhood. An obvious nod to the origins of the owners who export the chic of the Old Continent to glitzy Miami Beach. After all, in the UK, the Beckhams have often been seen as the ‘other royal family’. Certainly because they are close to the real one, are invited to tea at the Windsors, sit in the front row at princely weddings. The only regret for David: still not having been ennobled by Charles III.

However, he does everything he can, poses whenever he can alongside his friend Prince William and has just accepted a position as ambassador for the King’s Foundation, dear to the sovereign. In September 2022, he even waited for hours in the “queue” which snaked through London to bow for a few seconds before the remains of Elizabeth II. Could he better demonstrate his attachment to the Crown? “David Beckham is an excellent representative of his country, but he lacks the stripes to be titled a knight,” Paul Burrell, Lady Diana’s former butler, recently admitted on Sky News. Above all, he still uses his media coverage too much for commercial purposes. » And it is not by purchasing a flashy address on the other side of the Atlantic that David Beckham will demonstrate the opposite.

David Beckham, co-owner of the Inter Miami CF football club and his wife Victoria during a match against Orlando in 2023.

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© Backgrid USA

By founding Inter Miami CF, David fulfilled a childhood dream

There, the former star footballer, now an accomplished businessman, founded his own club, Inter Miami CF. A childhood dream that he took to its climax, by recruiting one of the best players in history, Lionel Messi, and by building a 25,000-seat stadium whose inauguration is planned for 2026. Projects which forced the Beckhams to spend more and more time in Florida. In 2020, David and Victoria had already treated themselves to a pied-à-terre in Miami. A penthouse of approximately 900 square meters, perched on the 62nd floor of the One Thousand Museum, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, the work of architect Zaha Hadid. Five bedrooms, six bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool, a roof terrace and even a private helipad… But the place was obviously not big enough for the Beckhams who needed more space. Their new house – 1,300 square meters of living space, some 2,400 of land – has four additional bedrooms, and double the number of bathrooms, a gym, a spa and even a cinema room. All with panoramic views of the Atlantic. A promise of escape that David appreciates, he who, in 2021, paid 7 million for a 28-meter-long yacht, where his little family meets for weekends and vacations.


The entrance to “Beckingham Palace” sets the tone for the whole: 1,300 square meters of precious wood and bay windows.

DR / © Choeff Levy Fischman

The former owner would be a certain Niklas de la Motte, a businessman, who acquired the villa in 2018. It must be said that the area is popular: North Bay Road, a street which runs along Biscayne Bay, is the point anchor of many celebrities. The Beckhams’ neighbors include Shakira, Cindy Crawford and even their compatriot from the Bee Gees, Barry Gibb. Enough to not feel too out of place under the palm trees.

When, in 2007, David – who had not yet hung up his boots – signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy, Victoria followed him and took a liking to American life. So much so that, when her husband left to play for AC Milan, she and the children did not want to move to Italy. In the United States, the clothing brand she created in 2008 experienced immediate popularity. While in Europe she was, until very recently, mocked: it took almost two decades for the former Spice Girl to show in and establish herself in the ruthless world of couture.

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The “Seven”, David and Victoria Beckham's megayacht purchased in 2021 for 7 million euros, is 28 meters long and can accommodate ten guests in addition to the crew.

The “Seven”, David and Victoria Beckham’s megayacht purchased in 2021 for 7 million euros, is 28 meters long and can accommodate ten guests in addition to the crew.

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© Backgrid USA

Even more than David, it was Victoria who was eager to move. His ambition: to conquer Miami, which has become, for many, the “fashion capital”

“Although it was David who had professional obligations in Miami, the real estate agents also had the impression that Victoria was eager to move,” says José Lambiet, a society columnist known throughout Florida. According to him, the designer would have understood that Miami was “a fashion capital” and intends to establish herself there by “using her privileged address book”. In particular, she would be eager to make friends with Lauren Sanchez, presenter and fiancée of Amazon creator Jeff Bezos, who rules the city. Victoria would even be tempted to dethrone her: “She will organize parties at her house where she will bring together all the rich and famous people,” the “Daily Mail” believes.

The Beckhams could then overshadow Nelson and Claudia Peltz, in-laws of their eldest son, Brooklyn, who married Nicola Peltz in 2022. At the time of the marriage, it was claimed that David and Victoria were jealous of the fortune of this discreet couple of billionaires, close to Trumpist circles. But maybe the neighborhood – the Peltzes live most of the year in Palm Beach – will be enough to bring them together.

David Beckham with the Major League Soccer trophy his club just won, surrounded by his wife and two of their four children, Cruz (left), 19, and Harper Seven, 13. In Miami, October 20.

David Beckham with the Major League trophy his club just won, surrounded by his wife and two of their four children, Cruz (left), 19, and Harper Seven, 13. In Miami, October 20.

© DR

This villa joins the Beckhams’ many other properties. In London, in the very chic Holland Park district, a stone’s throw from Kensington Palace, they live in a four-story mansion that they had renovated from cellar to attic with the help of the best decorators in the kingdom, without distorting anything. of its Victorian style. Viewers of the documentary series “Beckham”, available since 2023 on Netflix, had a glimpse of this superb house, as well as the one purchased in 2016 in the Cotswolds, the most bucolic of England’s regions. A farm – like we see in the movies – surrounded by orchards and green meadows, where David tries his hand at beekeeping. The interior has rustic charm, with wooden beams, green velvet and stone fireplaces. Enough to warm up the atmosphere. Even if the long winter evenings will always be warmer under the Miami sun.

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