Victoria Beckham Receives OBE From Prince William: "I'm Proud to Be British"

Yui Mok/PA Wire

Victoria Beckham dressed her best Wednesday—and for good reason.
Prince William made the 43-year-old designer an OBE at Buckingham Palace in London. Before she was named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Victoria (wearing a look from her Pre-Fall 2017 collection) waved to fans with her husband, David Beckham.
Her parents, Jackie Adams and Tony Adams, showed up, while her four children—Brooklyn Beckham, 18, Romeo Beckham, 14, Cruz Beckham, 12, and Harper Beckham, 5—stayed home.
The 34-year-old Duke of Cambridge (acting on behalf of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II) has long been friendly with the Beckhams, who attended his 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton.

"It was an absolute pleasure to be at Buckingham Palace today," Victoria said. "I'm proud to be British, honored and humbled to receive my OBE from the Duke of Cambridge. If you dream big and work hard you can accomplish great things. I'm so happy to share this very special occasion with my parents and husband. Without their love and support, none of this would be possible."
After the event, Victoria was ushered into a waiting chauffeur-driven car.
Romeo updated his Instagram later, writing, "I want to say how proud I am of my mum today as she received her OBE...She works so hard and really deserves this honour..We love you mum x."

Yui Mok/PA Wire

David received his OBE in 2003 for services to soccer. Speaking last year for the documentary Our Queen at Ninety, the 41-year-old athlete said, "Collecting my OBE was one of the proudest moments. That day was special for me because I brought my grandparents with me, and it made me proud that I could bring them to somewhere that they worshipped for their whole lives. Meeting the Queen—it doesn't get better than that. You can feel the emotion. I can personally feel the emotion. I just love everything about our Queen and what she represents."
Earlier this year, e-mails in which David criticized the honors system and the honors committee leaked in the British press. His rep insisted the e-mails were "doctored," "hacked" and "private."

Heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill was also made a dame during Wednesday's ceremony, while Oscar- and Tony Award-winning actor Mark Rylance was knighted for his services to theater. Paralympic swimmer Bethany Firth was made an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), as was master craftsman Tom Young, who's been glassblowing for 60 years.