In October that same year, the Sussexes 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 and the former footballer travelled Down Under to show his support for the event.

But things reportedly became tense when the Prince inexplicably 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.

Despite that, David initially said he was ‘proud’ of Harry following the announcement in 2020 that he and Meghan were stepping down from the royal family.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, David described Harry as an “amazing” person. “We love him,” he said, speaking on behalf of his wife, Victoria. “But I’m proud to see him growing up as an individual and being that person that every father wants to be.”

However, following their exit, Harry and Meghan made numerous public attacks on the royal family – and the monarchy, something likely to have upset David, an ardent royalist who famously queued for 12 hours to pay his respects to the Queen as she lay in state.

Since then, the couples have kept their distance. 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.

And 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.

One issue between the Sussexes and the Beckhams could be 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. In photographs released to mark the announcement, the sportstar was pictured with the King on the doorstep of Highgrove, Charles’s 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, 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!”

T he 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.