When Meghan Markle first moved to London to live with Prince Harry, she barely knew a soul. Ensconced in Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace, the duchess-to-be had left Toronto where she had a busy social life and lots of friends and, understandably, felt lonely.
But there was one person who extended a welcome hand of friendship and invited her for tea at her £25 million mansion, just a little over a mile from the royal residence. And that was Victoria Beckham.
They had several mutual acquaintances: Meghan’s close friend, British PR guru Izzy May, worked for Victoria’s husband David, and of course David and Harry had been close for years. So close, in fact, that David and Victoria were on the guest list for Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, and Harry had invited David to be an ambassador for his beloved Invictus Games charity.
The friendship came to a dramatic end, however, after Harry suspected that Victoria was leaking stories about his wife to the tabloid press – an accusation the couple vehemently denied, and one David is still fuming about.
One can imagine the scenes, therefore, Chez Beckham, on Wednesday evening when it emerged that David and Victoria’s estranged son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz had rubbed shoulders with Meghan and Harry at a dinner in Montecito, California where, it was reported, the two women found ‘common ground’ over their new-found infamy as American wives who’ve allegedly driven a wedge through well-known, and much-loved, British families.
It emerged on Wednesday that Brooklyn Beckham and his wife Nicola Peltz, pictured at the Met Gala in 2021, had rubbed shoulders with Prince Harry and Meghan at a dinner in Montecito
It was reported that the two women found ‘common ground’ over their new-found infamy as American wives who’ve allegedly driven a wedge through well-known British families
Harry, too, had apparently offered Brooklyn his ‘unwavering support’ amid the fall-out with his parents and siblings – a subject on which he’s becoming something of an expert.
I’m told that David and Victoria had no idea about the meeting, leaving them blindsided that their errant offspring had joined the ‘other side’ in what appears to be just the latest jibe at his parents.
In fact, not only did the Beckhams not know of the event, those in their circles struggled to believe that Brooklyn and Nicola would agree to meet up with Harry and Meghan having snubbed five of David’s 50th birthday celebrations. It was, they say, a particularly cruel blow.
‘Brooklyn knows how hurt David and Victoria were when Harry and Meghan accused them of briefing stories about them,’ said a source. ‘David, who is very mild mannered, was absolutely furious.
‘Brooklyn was very much around and spending a lot of time with his parents when this all happened. It was over five years ago but the upset and dislike is still very much there.
‘Victoria was especially good to Meghan in the beginning and it all got thrown back in her face.’
However, Victoria and David can breathe a small sigh of relief because the soiree was not the cosy foursome implied by The Sun newspaper yesterday but instead, I am reliably informed, a much larger gathering hosted by Brian Robbins, 61, the CEO of television giant Paramount and Nickelodeon, and his wife Tracy, 49, who are neighbours of Harry and Meghan in Montecito.
Far from an intimate occasion, there were more than 20 people at the party, held at the Robbins’ vast, $17 million, six-bedroom villa, with its 4,500 bottle wine cellar and 88ft swimming pool.
The Robbinses and the Sussexes have become close friends, after attending the January 2024 premiere of Paramount’s reggae biopic, Bob Marley: One Love, in Jamaica.
Harry and Meghan were flown to the event in a Bombardier private jet, courtesy of Paramount Pictures. They must have been delighted, not just with the generous freebie but by the welcome hand of friendship, proferred by this very well-connected, power couple.
After all, the Sussexes were in dire need of good contacts: they’d just been dropped by Spotify from their £15 million deal after Meghan’s podcast flopped, and a senior executive branded them ‘f***ing grifters’.
Then their £80 million deal with Netflix was reduced to a polo documentary and a lifestyle show.
The Sussexes’ friendship with David and Victoria Beckham came to a dramatic end after Harry suspected that Victoria was leaking stories about his wife to the press – an accusation David is still fuming about
However the soiree was not the cosy foursome implied by The Sun but instead a much larger gathering hosted by Brian Robbins, the CEO of Paramount and Nickelodeon, and his wife Tracy, pictured with Harry and Meghan at a film premiere in Jamaica last year
The foursome are now so close that Tracy was one of just 50 people to get a jar of Meghan’s strawberry jam, from her American Riviera Orchard brand (now renamed As Ever). Her jar was number 17, and she gushed on social media about how she would not be sharing it with anybody.
Then, in May, the Sussexes celebrated their sixth anniversary with a double date accompanied by the Robbinses at Lucky’s Steakhouse in Montecito. However, you do have to wonder just what the Sussexes make of the not insignificant matter of one particular TV show produced by Paramount, satirical cartoon South Park.
Meghan and Harry were eviscerated in an episode in 2022, called The Worldwide Privacy Tour, which savagely mocked their decision to step back as senior members of the Royal Family saying they wanted privacy while courting publicity with constant attempts at rebranding.
Some things, it would seem, are worth forgiving.
So how did Brooklyn and Nicola find themselves on the guest list for the dinner?
Not only are they significantly younger than their hosts – Brooklyn and Nicola are just 26 and 30 – they’re hardly movers and shakers in the world of television.
The common denominator is Brooklyn’s father David, who is currently starring in football chat show Beckham & Friends Live on Paramount+. One source suggested to me that Brooklyn was invited by the TV mogul because he is David’s son and Robbins had no idea that there was a serious rift between them.
‘David’s production company sold the show to Paramount and it is something that Brian would have been very hands-on with,’ said an insider. ‘Brooklyn lives in Los Angeles, just down the highway, so perhaps Brian thought it would be a nice thing to invite him and Nicola.’
A nice thing indeed: it was an invitation they would have instantly accepted, especially since the couple are desperately trying to carve out a lucrative brand for themselves and a TV show is exactly what they would want to make that happen.
‘Nicola is also an actress so
mixing in such circles will not do
her career any harm. In fact getting in front of people like Brian is extremely advantageous.’
Another insider suggests that while the invitation was sent out way before the feud became public knowledge, Nicola would have noted the optics of what it would look like to hang out at the same party as Meghan and Harry.
‘It’s a kick in the teeth or a total screw you,’ they said. ‘Depending on what side you are on.’
Regardless, the coming together of the two couples is fascinating.
Politics is probably a subject best avoided: Nicola’s Republican credentials, thanks to her father billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz’s close friendship with Donald Trump, is not going to sit well with Meghan’s staunch Democratic leanings.
That might go some way to explaining why Harry and Meghan appeared to be trying to distance themselves from Brooklyn and Nicola on Wednesday night, shortly after news of the meet-up was revealed.
In a report in US magazine People, viewed universally as something of mouthpiece for Harry and Meghan, those close to the Sussexes insisted that Brooklyn and Nicola were not directly invited by the couple.
Sources stressed that the meal was for a large group of VIPs, including TV and media executives, with one telling the publication: ‘Brooklyn and Nicola were invited prior to David’s numerous global birthday galas, so the timing is pure coincidence. While it was an intimate gathering, there were several additional guests, including VIPs and film executives. Brooklyn and Nicola had a wonderful time and found Harry and Meghan to be particularly kind, caring and generous.’
It has been suggested to me that the conversation between the two couples was limited but sources acknowledge that they would have had ‘plenty to talk about’ – with similarities between the two family rifts undeniable.
Brooklyn and Nicola snubbed five of David’s 50th birthday celebrations. Victoria and David are pictured at one of the events with son Romeo, his girlfriend Kim Turnbull, daughter Harper, son Cruz and his partner Jackie Apostel
Indeed, Brooklyn’s fall-out with his parents and siblings almost mirrors Prince Harry’s: Nicola has been blamed for taking Brooklyn away from his beloved parents, in the same way Meghan has for removing Harry from the Royal Family. Those who know the Beckhams have accused Nicola of controlling her husband of three years. There are also claims that she purposely starts an argument before a Beckham family event which then ‘kicks off’ to the point that she and Brooklyn can no longer attend.
This is what the Beckhams believe was behind their no-shows for David’s birthday earlier this month. Brooklyn and Nicola did not attend any of the celebrations that David had organised for his family.
First it was the A-list bash at Cipriani restaurant in Miami on March 30. Then, despite being invited six months ago, Brooklyn failed to make a Scottish fishing trip, despite being in London in time to join his father and two brothers. The couple were also absent from a big family party at the Beckhams’ £10 million Cotswolds home on April 30.
They also shunned the luxurious jaunt to Bordeaux in France on Friday May 2 where the family gathered for lunch at David’s favourite vineyard, Petrus –
which produces his preferred red wine from Merlot grapes – in Pomerol close to the border of Saint-Émilion.
Finally, Brooklyn and Nicola failed to turn up to the former footballer’s star-studded meal at Notting Hill restaurant Core on Saturday May 3.
Instead they flew back to the US where they had planned to attend the exclusive Met Gala in New York as guests of Amazon, who Brooklyn works with for his Cloud 23 hot sauce brand.
However, following the backlash for shunning David’s birthday, they pulled out – with a ‘Nicola hissy fit’ suspected as the reason.
Amid this painful split with their eldest son, however, there was one unlikely ally to be found in the Royal Family, namely Prince Harry’s sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales.
On Tuesday she opted to wear one of Victoria Beckham’s creations, a £1,340 olive-green trouser suit, to present the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design at an event hosted by the British Fashion Council – something the designer would have been thrilled about.
‘David and [Prince] William are really close, still,’ said a source close to the Beckhams.
‘And while it would be ridiculous to suggest that Kate chose to wear VB because of the headlines over the fall out with Brooklyn, it would have brought a smile to Victoria’s face.’ A rare event in itself, but something the heart-broken Mrs Beckham could really do with right now.
