Victoria and David Beckham make surprise appearance alongside royal family

David and Victoria Beckham are among around 170 guests at tonight's State Banquet in the Buckingham Palace ballroom.

David, who served as an ambassador for the Qatar World Cup in 2022, became an ambassador for The King's Foundation in June, when he swapped beekeeping tips with the monarch over tea at Highgrove.

He was seated between Paris St Germain president Nasser el Khelaifi and Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch, while Victoria sat opposite him and sitting between Lord Levy and Lord Darzi.

While both David and Victoria have attended events at the Palace before, this was the first time they have been invited to one of the glittering banquets laid on for foreign heads of state. 

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The King and Queen and Emir and Sheikha were joined at the top table by the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal, who took Kate's usual place, Sir Keir Starmer and his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were among guests, along with Cressida Hogg, chairman of BAE Systems and her husband Henry Legge – a stepbrother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

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Guests dined on a light tartlet of Cornish lobster with quails eggs and organic salad leaves, followed by Supreme of Windsor pheasant wrapped in Savoy cabbage, roasted celeriac purée, gratinated potatoes with a soft creamy cheese from Suffolk, truffle sauce and a selection of winter vegetables.

Dessert was an iced bombe with Organic Samoan vanilla ice cream and Balmoral plum sorbet.

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A non-alcoholic cocktail – Royal Mirage - was also created for guests by the Palace’s resident mixologist, a page of the presence.

The drink, made from smoked pomegranate and ginger with black lime garnish, was served alongside a selection of fine wines.

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The ballroom was filled with the scent of flowers and foliage from the Windsor Home Park and the Orchard Garden at the glasshouses in Windsor.

Amaryllis, hydrangea and nerines in shades of red were arranged in silver-gilt centrepieces from the Grand Service and were destined to be donated to Floral Angels, a charity which saves floral arrangements from events and delivers them to hospices, care homes and shelters.

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There was also a magnificent Christmas tree positioned at the entrance to the ballroom, decked in twinkling lights, red and gold tinsel and opulent red velvet ribbons.

Music was performed by the King’s harpist Mared Pugh-Evans and the Hiraeth Quartet, made up of talented students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary and 25 years of support from the King.

The Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra also performed pieces by composers ranging from Mozart and Vivaldi to Van Morrison and Dua Lipa, while pipers of the Highlanders 4th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland played a selection of marches and a reel.