King Charles may have honoured David Beckham by awarding him the knighthood, but the former football star also gave the royal family what they haven't achieved in a long while, at least in 2025.
It's an unprecedented number of likes the royal family's post featuring a video of the king knighting Beckham got, which it rarely gets.
It didn't happen even when the king met Hollywood star George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney earlier this year.
The three pinned posts related to the coronation of King Charles being an exception, one will have to scroll endlessly to find another post on the official Instagram account of the royal family that hit or crossed one million likes.
But with Beckham, the post has already crossed two million likes within a few hours.
One reason it earned attention from across the globe was that the Buckingham Palace social media team also tagged David Beckham while sharing it on Instagram.
Whatever the reason, the Instagram post speaks volumes of Beckham's popularity.
David Beckham, one of Britain's most celebrated soccer players, was knighted by King Charles at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, recognising his decades-long contribution to sport and charitable causes.
Beckham, a lifelong admirer of the royal family, was dressed in a suit designed by his wife, Victoria Beckham, a fashion designer and former member of the Spice Girls pop band.
He and King Charles shared a brief but warm exchange during the ceremony, with the king seen smiling and laughing as they spoke.
Coming out of the ceremony, Beckham said he cried when he first found out he was being awarded the knighthood.
"It's such a big moment for our family and it's so special," Beckham told reporters, joking that he would not mind if his kids called him "sir dad".
"I'm very proud to have such a special honour given to me. I grew up in a very humble background in the East End of London; always wanted to be a professional footballer; and then I'm stood here at Windsor Castle with the most important monarchy in the world," he said, adding that "it doesn't get any better".