A palace party fit for the Beckhams’ very own little princess
‘From time to time, members of the Royal family invite guests to visit privately’
MANY ordinary six-year-olds may dream of a princess tea party, with a fancy-dress costume and a few friends to join in. Harper Beckham, though, is no ordinary six-yearold and her dreams can come true.
The daughter of Victoria and David Beckham turned six yesterday and pictures posted online by her parents reveal she had recently been treated to a party with a real princess at Buckingham Palace.
The schoolgirl, wearing a Frozen dress, posed with Princess Eugenie in one of a series of photographs shared on social media. The Beckham family had attended a tea party, visiting Buckingham Palace with a group of Harper’s school friends.
The party took place in the private apartment of the Duke of York, whose daughter was in attendance to help sprinkle a little magic for their visitors.
The Beckhams posted photographs of the occasion to their combined 54.8 million social media followers yesterday, as they celebrated Harper’s birthday with her three brothers. The pictures initially led fans to believe the six-year-old had been thrown a special birthday party at Buckingham Palace, with her footballer father writing “Lucky Harper meeting a real life princess at the Palace” alongside a gushing birthday tribute.
After fans commented on the picture – with one wryly pointing out she had been offered a party at Mcdonald’s for her own sixth birthday – David Beckham later clarified his family had actually attended a tea party last week, in an entirely separate celebration.
Sources said the tea party had been a formal invitation from the Duke of York. His daughter, Princess Eugenie, attended the soirée.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “From time to time, members of the Royal family who reside in the Royal residences invite guests to visit privately.” An aide stressed that the party was paid for privately, taking place in the Duke’s own apartment at the palace rather than in the State Rooms.
A small number of children had been invited, a source added, with Harper and her friends included in what was described as a private function rather than an event thrown in honour of a charity or organisation.
The unconventional use of palace rooms for such an event is likely to raise eyebrows among royal observers, ahead of a Buckingham Palace refurbishment paid for by the taxpayer.
A source close to the Beckhams said the footballer has befriended many members of the Royal family through his charitable and ambassadorial work. His links with Prince William through the Football Association are well known.
A series of gushing messages were published by the Beckham clan, coordinated to publicise Harper’s birthday.
One image shared on David’s page showed him cuddling his daughter with Buckingham Palace as the backdrop.
The sporting star’s second picture showed Harper and six little girls posing inside the Palace with Princess Eugenie kneeling on the floor along with them.
A picture shared by Victoria showed Harper in a princess costume, standing in front of the palace holding a balloon.