Victoria Beckham says she and David ‘trying to do the best we can’ after Brooklyn feud

Lady Victoria Beckham has stressed the importance of her children behaving “appropriately” amid a family feud with her son.

The Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer, 51, said it was “really important” that her daughter, Harper, “works hard” and was “very appropriate”.

Describing her daughter, who is the most private of her four children, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Beckham said: “She’s very sweet, she’s very kind, she works hard, and she’s also very appropriate, which I think is really important as well.”

Her remarks come after Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, her and Sir David Beckham’s eldest son, accused his mother of dancing “inappropriately” with him at his 2022 wedding to Nicola Peltz, the daughter of a billionaire businessman.

In an incendiary Instagram post this year, Peltz Beckham, who has had no contact with his parents or siblings for more than a year, said of the incident: “In front of our 500 wedding guests, Marc Anthony [the pop singer] called me to the stage, which in the schedule was planned to be my romantic dance with my wife but instead my mum was waiting to dance with me instead.

“She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life.”

Asked about the statement and ensuing fallout, Victoria Beckham said that she and her husband, former footballer Sir David Beckham, were “trying to do the best we can” in parenting.

“Being a parent of young adult children and adult children, gosh, I mean, it’s very different from having little children,” she said.

Her comments marked her first statement following her son’s public remarks in January, which garnered headlines around the world.

Brooklyn Peltz Beckham has accused his mother in particular of trying to sabotage his relationship with Peltz, 31, an actress and the daughter of Nelson Peltz, a high-profile Wall Street investor.

“My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped,” Peltz Beckham claimed, alleging that his mother “cancelled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour”.

While Victoria Beckham did not address any of the direct claims her son made, she told the Wall Street Journal that she and her husband “love our children so much”.

“We’ve always tried to be the best parents that we can be,” she said. “And you know, we’ve been in the public eye for more than 30 years right now, and all we’ve ever tried to do is protect our children and love our children. And you know, that’s all I really want to say about it.”

Beckham said the negative press about her family did not affect her fashion business, explaining that the products are bought because they are “really good”, not because they are synonymous with her.

However, she did admit that being in the Spice Girls taught her “so much about building a brand”. She said: “For me, it’s about creating an illusion.”

One of the claims that Brooklyn Peltz Beckham levelled against his parents was that they put “Brand Beckham” above all else, while purporting to have a “perfect family”.

“The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into,” he said in the Instagram post, adding that it has given him “overwhelming anxiety” all his life.

Victoria Beckham, discussing the impact being in the public spotlight has had on her and David’s respective families in the 1990s and 2000s, said: “I wouldn’t say it comes with guilt, I’d say that there was a lot of adjusting from my mum and dad, when all of a sudden there were paparazzi outside their house.

“We’ve really taken our families on this ride with us.”

Telegraph, London

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.