Brooklyn Beckham turns 18: How much do you really know about him?
Victoria and David Beckham's eldest, Brooklyn turns 18 today, so to celebrate we chart the rise of the eldest Beckham boy...
Picture Editor: Sandra Waibl
PA PhotosBrooklyn Joseph Beckham was born on 4th March 1999 at London's Portland Hospital. As well as having famous parents, he also soon counted Elton John as his godfather and Elizabeth Hurley as his godmother.
PA PhotosBut Brooklyn's first starring role ever, came at only four-months-old when he was the ring bearer at his mum and dad's July 1999 wedding in an Irish castle.
Rex FeaturesBut there’s a scary side to being a Beckham and when Brooklyn was just three-years-old, a plot to kidnap both he and his younger brother Romeo, was uncovered, in 2002. According to reports at the time, three men had planned to ambush their country pile in Hertfordshire (the so-called 'Beckingham Palace'), and sedate Victoria with a chemical spray. The couple subsequently - and understandably - did everything in their power to combat the threat and were said to have employed a number of ex-SAS men and women as part of their security team to keep their tots safe.
Rex FeaturesBut it was in 2009 that Victoria Beckham took her eldest on his first official public outing - as he helped her out with some charity work in the state of Kentucky. The former Spice Girl and her then-ten-year-old son visited impoverished children in Clay County and writing about it later, the singer-turned-designer said: "What I saw in Clay County was the hope and promise inherent in every child... I'm pleased Brooklyn is learning that by helping and joining other children he can play a role in making his generation the greatest yet." Victoria and Brooklyn reportedly took part in several programmes with the children, including teaching football, reading to toddlers and providing literacy tools to parents on home visits.
PA PhotosA baby faced Brooklyn aged eleven-years-old, on one of his first red carpet outings alongside dad David, was at the 2010 'Millies' in London.
Rex FeaturesBut Brooklyn's long harboured dreams to follow his dad into football, as both David and Victoria were regulars on the touchline when their eldest was playing for the LA Galaxy Academy, way back in the summer of 2011.
PA PhotosJust days before though and poor old Brooklyn was snapped hobbling his way onto the pitch to support dad David's efforts after an LA Galaxy Vs. Real Salt Lake football match. Beckham the younger had reportedly hurt his foot playing a spot of footy in a school match a few days prior. Luckily it wasn't a repeat of David's infamous 2002 metatarsal injury, though.
Rex FeaturesRegularly snapped out and about with his famous parents, here are David and Brooklyn en route to a local lunch spot near their LA home in November 2011, when the family were still based in California.
PA PhotosMaking for a stylish turn on the red carpet alongside his younger brother and dad, a 12-year-old Brooklyn accompanied them both to the The Sun Military Awards - for the second year running - at the Imperial War Museum in December 2011.
Bigpicturesphoto.comBrooklyn's 13th birthday hit the headlines in 2012 when it was reported that dad David had organised a very special birthday present for his eldest son - a birthday phone call from his idol, Usher.
PA PhotosBut way before all that retirement chat, Brooklyn had the honour of presenting his dad David with the 2011 MLS Cup winner's ring before he took to the field in LA to play in an LA Galaxy V DC United game, when The Beckhams were still fully-fledged LA-dwellers.
Rex FeaturesBut before talk of Manchester Utd and Arsenal, thirteen-year-old Brooklyn was making his mark in the footballing world when it was reported in January 2013 that he had attended trials for Chelsea FC's academy. However, just four months later and days after dad David played his last professional match of his 22-year career, it was confirmed that son Brooklyn was in fact training at another London club, Queens Park Rangers.
Rex FeaturesAs a sporting family and with Brooklyn being the son of one of the most famous and admired footballers in the world, it was little surprise that Team Beckham were out in force for the London 2012 Olympics.
Getty ImagesThen there was that time in the summer of 2013 when Brooklyn was unofficially crowned Son Of The Year by mums around the globe when he acted as his own mother’s date to the annual GLAMOUR Women Of The Year awards. It was a big night for the pair of them as not only was Brooklyn a chaperone to his famous mum but VB also picked up the well-deserved Woman Of The Decade gong.
Getty ImagesBut family always comes first with the famously close Beckham family, who can regularly be seen hanging out all together - and more often than not, at sporting events. Go figure...
AKM-GSIThe Beckhams are said to be keen to keep their brood grounded and so in between the odd modelling gig and a star turn on the pitch, Brooklyn Beckham was interning. However, whilst we could only get a couple of Saturdays as the pot wash at the local pub, Brooklyn reportedly did work experience in the summer of 2014 at Guy Ritchie's London film office, SKA Films. But the glamour didn't end there, he was allegedly driven to work in dad David Beckham's Jaguar car.
Alasdair McLellanBut his ad campaign for Reserved wasn't Brooklyn's first foray into the world of modelling. Following his brother Romeo's lead, in early 2014, Beckham Jr. graced the cover of Man About Town magazine, which featured a fashionable 20-page editorial on him.
Rex FeaturesFurther cementing his status as a budding fashion icon, in early 2015, it was announced that Brooklyn had gone and bagged himself his first fashion ad campaign for Polish label, Reserved.
PA PhotosBut it's not just football that interests mini Becks. Despite being regularly eclipsed on the front row by his adorable little sister, Harper, Brooklyn is a mainstay at his mother's New York Fashion Week shows - having never missed a season. Indeed, fashion might run in the Beckham blood if Brooklyn's Instagram account is anything to go by, where he regularly updates his profile with stylish shots of his outfits - as well as the odd onesie. Plus, we can't forget that he photographed the latest Burberry campaign.
Getty ImagesAfter qualifying for the Under 18s squad at the Arsenal academy in late 2014, it was rumoured in March that the budding footballer might well be following in his father's famous footsteps and transferring to Manchester United after bookies were reportedly taking 2/1 bets on Becks Jr. making a move to The Red Devils.
Splash NewsBrooklyn Beckham is quite the doting big brother. Here he is with his lil' sis, Harper.
Getty ImagesChaperoning his younger brothers, Romeo and Cruz, has become something of an evening job for Becks Jr. Brooklyn, who looked every bit the responsible, cool older brother at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. We hope Posh and Becks offer good rates for the quality service.
A baby-faced Brooklyn covers Miss Vogue, next to the model Adrienne Juliger. Not long after, the two were spotted together and rumours that they were dating rose.
Getty ImagesBut this was the real deal. Brooklyn and Chloë Moretz started dating in 2014 - on and off - but confirmed their relationship in May 2016. After that, their sweet social media posts about each other won everyone's heart. So we were super bummed when they broke up in September 2016.
Getty ImagesHe loves his music and is often spotted at gigs in London. He's also a regular at Coachella Festival in LA. With a backwards cap and shades, Becks Jr. looks right at home in the Californian sunshine.
RexWith an interest in photography and almost 10 million followers on Instagram, it came as no surprise that the mini Beckham was asked to photograph the Burberry campaign. Mario Testino, watch your back.
Instagram / @brooklynbeckhamBrooklyn proves he is just as talented in front of the camera, having scored some major magazine covers.
Instagram / @brooklynbeckhamMum Victoria also sees his potential, and he's often spotted backstage at her fashion shows taking pictures. But it's not all fashion - she also invites Brooklyn to do charity work with her.
Having taken her eldest son, Brooklyn, on her most recent trip to Kenya, the mother of four wrote ahead of the trip: "Men are different: they communicate in a different way. So with our journey to Kenya I am hoping that Brooklyn can go out and play football with the men, and that the men and boys can relate to him in a way that they can’t relate to me."
"I think it is very important as a mother to teach your children to give back and to be charitable. I doubt there is a mother out there who doesn’t want her child to know how lucky they are and aims to teach her child to be loving, caring, hardworking and humble."
Instagram / @brooklynbeckhamNo wonder Becks Jr. likes to work out, have you seen his set of extremely fit parents?!
REX FeaturesEarly 2017 it was rumoured that Brooklyn Beckham and Sofia Richie were dating after they were spotted catching up for a spot of bowling in London. We'll keep you posted if this is 2017's hot new couple.
Instagram / @brooklynbeckhamBrooklyn's aspiring photography career is very promising. His talent has rendered him a book deal. What I See features 300 of Beckham's photographs and will be released in May 2017.
Instagram / @brooklynbeckhamWere just going to leave this here. On the eve of Brooklyn's 18th birthday, dad David got started with the embarrassing pictures.
