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David & Victoria Beckham’s Heartfelt Birthday Tribute to Son Cruz: A Family Celebration

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David Beckham took to Instagram on Friday morning to celebrate his son Cruz’s birthday, amidst an ongoing rift with his eldest child, Brooklyn. In a heartfelt post, Beckham described Cruz as “kind, considerate, and fiercely loyal.”

The former Manchester United and England star was quick to send his warm wishes as Cruz marked his 21st birthday. Beckham shared a touching video from Cruz’s childhood, subtly alluding to Brooklyn’s estrangement from the family in his affectionate message to his younger son.

“Happy 21st birthday to my little boy,” Beckham wrote, reflecting on Cruz’s growth. “You’re not so little anymore, but I am proud of the man you’ve become. Your kindness, consideration, and fierce loyalty to family, friends, and everyone around you make you truly special.”

He continued, “You’re on your own journey, working hard and enjoying life, which is what it’s all about. We love you, Cruzie, and hope you have an amazing day because you truly deserve it.”

‘You are on your own journey in life and you are working hard and having fun which is what life is all about… We love you Cruzie and hope you have the most amazing day because you deserve to.’ 

Accompanying video footage showed a young Cruz honing his musical talents by playing the guitar and piano, spending time with his parents and holidaying with his siblings – including Brooklyn. 

David Beckham led the birthday tributes to 'kind, considerate and fiercely loyal' son Cruz in a pointed Instagram post on Friday as his estrangement from eldest child Brooklyn continues

David Beckham led the birthday tributes to ‘kind, considerate and fiercely loyal’ son Cruz in a pointed Instagram post on Friday as his estrangement from eldest child Brooklyn continues

Sharing her own tribute, Victoria told Cruz she 'couldn't be prouder of the sweet, kind, talented young man you have become'

Sharing her own tribute, Victoria told Cruz she ‘couldn’t be prouder of the sweet, kind, talented young man you have become’ 

Signing off with a reference to his wife, he added: ‘Well done mum on bringing up another special young man.’ 

Sharing a video filled with personal family moments, Victoria added: ‘Happy birthday…. we could not be prouder of the sweet, kind, talented young man you have become. 

‘You have worked so hard and learned your craft, the world is now your oyster. We love you so much!!’ 

Elsewhere, older Romeo shared a throwback photo of himself and an infant Cruz alongside their fashion designer mother, with the accompanying caption: ‘Love you bro.’ 

The musician’s girlfriend Jackie Apostel also wished a happy birthday to ‘her human’ alongside a recent image of Cruz. 

Sharing a separate array of photos documenting her boyfriend from infancy to the present day, she added: ‘You’ve been the exact same since day 0.’ 

Proud aunt Jackie Adams – mum Victoria’s younger sister – added: ‘Happy birthday to one of the most amazing humans I know.’ 

Just days earlier, David and Victoria bankrolled a lavish, Beatles themed party for their son at Mayfair restaurant The Maine – an event attended by all except US based Brooklyn and his actress wife, Nicola Peltz. 

Accompanying video footage showed a young Cruz spending time with his parents and holidaying with his siblings - including Brooklyn (left)

Accompanying video footage showed a young Cruz spending time with his parents and holidaying with his siblings – including Brooklyn (left)

Brooklyn was last seen on Thursday, promoting his Cloud 23 hot sauce range at the 2026 South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami Beach in Florida

Brooklyn was last seen on Thursday, promoting his Cloud 23 hot sauce range at the 2026 South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami Beach in Florida 

Cruz, who recently embarked on a music career with his band, The Breakers, is also seen honing his guitar skills from an early age

The musician wears his school uniform while practicing his chords

Cruz, who recently embarked on a music career with his band, The Breakers, is also seen honing his guitar skills from an early age 

Cruz is pictured alongside both of his brothers in another post, despite Brooklyn's notable absence from the birthday tributes

Cruz is pictured alongside both of his brothers in another post, despite Brooklyn’s notable absence from the birthday tributes 

The guitarist, whose budding music career appears to be hitting all the right notes with fans, had celebrated his milestone birthday early, with David and Victoria throwing a party for their youngest son on Monday evening. 

The family their hair down at New England themed restaurant The Maine – where guests feasted on a hearty menu of cheeseburgers, chicken burgers and fish tacos.

Billed as the Grande Beatle Ball in honour of his biggest musical influence, Monday’s milestone gave guests including parents David and Victoria, girlfriend Jackie, brother Romeo and sister Harper an opportunity to quite literally Twist And Shout into the early hours.

But the Fab Four appeared to be a member short, with estranged eldest brother Brooklyn notably absent from the latest in a long line of family events as his three siblings celebrated without him. 

Elsewhere, older Romeo shared a throwback photo of himself and an infant Cruz alongside their fashion designer mother, with the accompanying caption: ' Love you bro '

Elsewhere, older Romeo shared a throwback photo of himself and an infant Cruz alongside their fashion designer mother, with the accompanying caption: ‘ Love you bro ‘

The musician's girlfriend Jackie Apostel also wished a happy birthday to 'her human' alongside a recent image of Cruz

The musician’s girlfriend Jackie Apostel also wished a happy birthday to ‘her human’ alongside a recent image of Cruz

Sharing a separate array of photos documenting her boyfriend from infancy to the present day, she added: 'You've been the exact same since day 0'

Sharing a separate array of photos documenting her boyfriend from infancy to the present day, she added: ‘You’ve been the exact same since day 0’

Wearing a vintage suit that was more in line with Buster Keaton than The Beatles, Cruz joined his fashion designer mum as she resurrected her iconic Spice Girls peace pose while posing for a social media snap. 

The young musician, whose new single For Your Love was released last Friday, was also accompanied by his band, The Breakers, with whom he took to the stage for a live performance. 

The night was rounded off with a performance by a Beatles tribute act, dressed in outfits identical to those worn by the band on the cover of their 1969 album, Abbey Road. 

Taking to Instagram, Jackie shared video footage from a raucous dancefloor as guests danced to Twist And Shout, one of the group’s best known hits. 

Cruz's younger sister Harper also weight in with her own birthday tribute to Cruz on Friday

Cruz’s younger sister Harper also weight in with her own birthday tribute to Cruz on Friday 

Proud aunt Jackie Adams - mum Victoria's younger sister - added: 'Happy birthday to one of the most amazing humans I know'

Proud aunt Jackie Adams – mum Victoria’s younger sister – added: ‘Happy birthday to one of the most amazing humans I know’

Brooklyn Beckham’s statement in full

I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private. Unfortunately, my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed.

I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life. For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family. The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.

Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they’ll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.

My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped. My mum cancelled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress. 

Weeks before our big day, my parents repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name, which would have affected me, my wife, and our future children.

They were adamant on me signing before my wedding date because then the terms of the deal would be initiated. My holdout affected the payday, and they have never treated me the same since. 

During the wedding planning, my mum went so far as to call me “evil” because Nicola and I chose to include my Nanny Sandra, and Nicola’s Naunni at our table, because they both didn’t have their husbands. Both of our parents had their own tables equally adjacent to ours.

The night before our wedding, members of my family told me that Nicola was “not blood” and “not family.” Since the moment I started standing up for myself with my family, I’ve received endless attacks from my parents, both privately and publicly, that were sent to the press on their orders.

Even my brothers were sent to attack me on social media, before they ultimately blocked me out of nowhere this last Summer. 

My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance to a romantic love song. In front of our 500 wedding guests, Marc Anthony called me to the stage, where 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. We wanted to renew our vows so we could create new memories of our wedding day that bring us joy and happiness, not anxiety and embarrassment.

My wife has been consistently disrespected by my family, no matter how hard we’ve tried to come together as one. My mum has repeatedly invited women from my past into our lives in ways that were clearly intended to make us both uncomfortable.

Despite this, we still travelled to London for my dad’s birthday and were rejected for a week as we waited in our hotel room trying to plan quality time with him. He refused all of our attempts, unless it was at his big birthday party with a hundred guests and cameras at every corner.

When he finally agreed to see me, it was under the condition that Nicola wasn’t invited. It was a slap in the face. Later, when my family travelled to LA, they refused to see me at all.

My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first. Family “love” is decided by how much you post on social media, or how quickly you drop everything to show up and pose for a family photo opp, even if it’s at the expense of our professional obligations.

We’ve gone out of our way for years to show up and support at every fashion show, every party, and every press activity to show ‘our perfect family.’ But the one time my wife asked for my mum’s support to save displaced dogs during the LA fires, my mum refused.

The narrative that my wife controls me is completely backwards. I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life. I grew up with overwhelming anxiety. For the first time in my life, since stepping away from my family, that anxiety has disappeared.

I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose, and have found peace and relief. My wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press, or manipulation. All we want peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family.

The guitarist had celebrated his milestone birthday early, with David and Victoria throwing a party for their youngest son on Monday evening

The guitarist had celebrated his milestone birthday early, with David and Victoria throwing a party for their youngest son on Monday evening 

Taking to Instagram, the musician's girlfriend Jackie Apostel shared video footage from a raucous dancefloor as guests danced to Twist And Shout, one of the group's best known hits

Wearing vintage suit that was more in keeping with Buster Keaton than The Beatles, Cruz was seen letting his hair down alongside his girlfriend

Taking to Instagram, the musician’s girlfriend Jackie Apostel shared video footage from a raucous dancefloor as guests danced to Twist And Shout, one of the group’s best known hits

Guests feasted on a hearty New England themed menu of cheeseburgers, chicken burgers and fish tacos during their night out at The Maine

Guests feasted on a hearty New England themed menu of cheeseburgers, chicken burgers and fish tacos during their night out at The Maine 

The event was the latest in a long line of family occasions to be snubbed by Brooklyn, last seen on Thursday, promoting his Cloud 23 hot sauce range at the 2026 South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami Beach in Florida. 

Now based in the United States with his actress wife – the daughter of billionaire businessman and investor Nelson Peltz – Brooklyn recently outlined his desire to distance himself from his family in a six page Instagram statement, filled with lurid allegations.

Addressing social media followers in January, Brooklyn claimed his parents had tried to sabotage his marriage and have always prioritised public branding over their family relationships.

‘For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family,’ he wrote in six pages of text, shared on Instagram.

‘The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.’

He added: ‘Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they´ll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.’

Unlike his three younger siblings, Brooklyn did not appear in his mother’s recent Netflix docuseries, nor did he show up at the October premiere as he and Peltz had for the London premiere of his father’s docuseries in 2023.

Brooklyn and his wife also missed David’s 50th birthday celebrations last May, and were notably absent at Windsor Castle for the former footballer’s long awaited investiture on November 4.

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