In the spotlight
He’s one of the world’s most famous teenagers, but how will he cope with moving out?
The Beckhams
As the son of one of the most famous power couples on the planet, life in the limelight was never going to be a walk in the park for young Brooklyn Beckham.
At just 18, he’s certainly made his mark on the celebrity scene – hanging with the cool crowd at the Brit Awards earlier this year, driving flash cars and becoming a social media superstar with around 10 million followers on Instagram. And the party’s set to continue stateside as Brooklyn is heading to the US to study art and photography at university. He’ll be moving out of the family’s £40 million West London mansion to the States this September.
But having given her son a degree of freedom, Victoria must be concerned about how he will cope being so far from home, especially after he recently found himself at the centre of a ‘kiss and tell story’ and the subject of an online backlash over his new tattoo.
Elton John’s protégée, the wannabe pop star Talia Storm, claimed recently that Brooklyn left her ‘heartbroken’. She added, ‘Brooklyn messed me about and then cut me off ‘ after they secretly dated back in 2014. Fashion designer Victoria knows her eldest son, who has previously dated actress Chloë Moretz, will be surrounded by girls at university who could target him for his fame. ‘Brooklyn is a typical teenager moving between groups of friends, but there are a lot of girls who will try to move in for the wrong reasons,’ an insider tells Woman. ‘Until now, Victoria and David have been able to vet his girlfriends, once Brooklyn moves out they will lose control. That’s tough for a family like the Beckhams with
‘Brooklyn is still only a Teenager’
people constantly trying to get a piece of them. Brooklyn’s only been 18 for a while but already he’s had his first kiss and tell, he’s got a tattoo and he’ll be off to uni in September. Victoria must feel like he’s slipping through her fingers and she can’t protect him as much. That’s a terrifying thought for any mum.’
Tattoo much?
Last week, Brooklyn sparked controversy when he Instagrammed a picture of his latest tattoo with the caption ‘Just like dad’s.’ But the inking of a Native American wearing a feathered headdress caused outrage for the ‘negative stereotyping of Native American people’. One user wrote, ‘Might be offensive to some that a rich white boy from England is appropriating Native American culture. Just my opinion.’ While another blasted, ‘Native Americans are not an aesthetic.’
Some critics feel that 18 is too young to get a tattoo. Last year, former Apprentice star Margaret Mountford suggested tattoos could seriously harm a young person’s chances in the workforce.
Perhaps Victoria agrees with this viewpoint, as she reportedly underwent laser treatment to remove her own extensive tattoo collection in a bid to fit in with the fashion crowd. But having been accompanied to the tattoo parlour by Dad David, whom he idolises, it seems Mum Victoria had little say in the matter.
But as her first-born, Brookly shares a close bond with his mum and she is determined to protect him at all costs. The 43-year-old knows only too well that any slip-ups could have a knock-on effect on Brand Beckham, worth a rumoured £500 million.
The former Spice Girl has instructed her top lieutenants, PR gurus Jo Milloy and Natalie Lewis, to help manage Brooklyn’s public profile going forward. Both women have worked with the family for more than a decade helping to smooth Victoria’s transition from Spice Girl to fashion designer. With the spotlight bearing down on Brooklyn now that he’s come of age, he’ll really need the benefit of their expert guidance.
The Beckham Bond
So far, Team Beckham has managed to achieve the delicate balance between flaunting their family while giving their children, Brooklyn, Romeo, 14, Cruz, 12, and Harper, five, a degree of privacy. In 2014, it was reported Brooklyn got a job in his local coffee shop for £2.68 an hour so that he could live like a normal teenager.
The family have also helped him foster his passion for photography. Victoria was able to call in her contacts to get him hired as the snapper on Burberry’s fragrance campaign last year. Despite being slammed for nepotism, Brooklyn has insisted that photography is his passion.
He said, ‘I want to be a photographer and I do as much as I can at weekends.’ Now that he’s set to study at a top photography course in the US, no doubt Brooklyn has a bright future ahead.
An insider added, ‘As David has pointed out, they’ve spent a lifetime teaching Brooklyn right from wrong, one day they’ll have to take a leap of faith and trust him – and that time is now.’
For a boy dubbed ‘the most bankable baby ever born’, Brooklyn will have to establish himself outside his parents’ shadow. But they’ll be on hand to help and Brand Beckham will go on regardless.
‘They will Take a leap of faith’