Britain’s “alternative royal family” -- Victoria and David Beckham -- were hosting a lavish but much-derided Christmas party on Thursday to christen their sons in the grounds of their “Beckingham Palace” home.
The England soccer captain and his pop star wife were to welcome a Who’s Who of British celebrities for the evening ceremony at a refurbished chapel amid the fake ruins of a rural mansion.
Media said no expense was being spared, with butlers set to serve guests a six-course meal after the service by a Church of England minister.
“It will, in true Beckham fashion, be an absurdly over-the-top event,” wrote the Daily Mail, which like other tabloids had a large two-page spread on the preparations.
David Beckham -- who famously sat with Victoria on thrones when they married in 1999 -- was said to have scoffed at reports the event was costing 2,500 pounds ($4,900) a head.
“It will be much more than that!” he assured friends, according to the Mail.
Close friend and singer Elton John, and his partner David Furnish, were to be the godfathers to Beckham boys Brooklyn, 5, and 2-year-old Romeo, a spokesman confirmed to Reuters.
Among other stars expected were actress Liz Hurley, and Beckham’s great friend and fellow England star Gary Neville.
Mockery
Short of news during the pre-Christmas lull, some of the celebrity-obsessed UK papers took delight mocking the Beckhams.
The Daily Express said the pregnant Victoria -- or “Posh Spice” as she was known in the “Spice Girls” band -- had insisted on “modest attire” for the event.
“Pregnant Victoria is said by one guest to be feeling a little insecure about her figure and doesn’t want to be literally overshadowed by displays of decolletage that could have someone’s eye out,” it said.
“And yes, that does mean you, Liz Hurley.”
One paper dubbed the purpose-built church in their garden “Chav Chapel” -- using the new buzzword for young flashy Britons. Photos showed mock ruins the pair have put up by the chapel.
For the Beckhams, the event was clearly meant to put a gloss on an otherwise miserable year.
Victoria has been mercilessly taunted by British media for her stuttering singing career and possessiveness toward her husband. David Beckham has lost respect on the pitch due to mediocre performances for both England and Real Madrid.
And kiss-and-tell revelations by alleged lovers of David during a lonely period in Madrid rocked their marriage.
“The event is seen as an attempt by the couple to show the world that their marriage is back on track and that ’brand Beckham’ still has global appeal,” the Mail said.
Christian ceremony
While the ceremony was to be Christian, guests would see Buddhist shrines in the grounds. But the couple were not expected to wear the red Kabbalah wrist-strings they -- like Madonna and others -- have adopted of late to show their new religious inclinations.
Various papers generously reprinted one of David Beckham’s most-mocked comments to an interviewer about first son Brooklyn.
“I definitely want him to be christened, but I don’t know into what religion yet.”
The best-selling Sun printed two lists comparing and contrasting the Beckhams’ event with the Christian nativity under the headline “O Little Town of Beckslehem.”
There was only one direct similarity -- “Clothes: Flowing robes and rosary beads.”