Over the past 30 years, the Beckhams have navigated a media landscape that has morphed from a tabloid feeding frenzy into a social media free-for-all, so the instinct to protect their image is perhaps understandable.
But some believe they are reaping the consequences of putting their family in the limelight to benefit the brand.
The Guardian’s Marina Hyde said, external Brooklyn had been “commodified” since before he was born, with his parents selling pictures and stories from as early as Victoria’s pregnancy.
But, Hyde added, his parents refined their media strategy as he grew older. “As time went on, David and Victoria acquired more sophisticated advisers who understood the rapidly morphing potential of controlling image and brand, and built a vast and diversified empire for them off the back of it.”
Others, however, suggest Brooklyn is spoiled, has taken advantage of the family name himself, and shouldn’t post on social media about his desire for privacy.
Tom Bower, author of 2024 biography The House of Beckham, sympathises with Brooklyn and isn’t persuaded by the image his parents project.
“The Beckhams are a phoney family,” he told 5 Live. “It’s a family for a brand, and it’s been very successful…
“And the truth is, they’re not a happy family. They are a commercial product, which has earned them a fortune, but the victims have been their children.”
However, journalist Hadley Freeman, ghostwriter of Victoria Beckham’s 2006 biography, says in her experience they were “both incredibly sweet, incredibly involved with their children, very loving as a family”.
“At the same time, there is this problem with some famous people, which is that they are addicted to their fame, and they are addicted to how people see them,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“It’s not hard to imagine what it’s like to be a relative within that situation and to feel maybe a little exploited at times, and to see the disparity between what is put on social media and the reality.”