Prince William and David Beckham were spotted sharing a private joke at RAF Northolt in West London this week while inspecting two London Air Ambulances funded by their fundraising efforts. The playful exchange left onlookers curious about what could have amused the former England football captain and the heir to the throne, who previously served as a pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance from 2015 to 2017.

As for Prince Harry, he may hope the humor wasn’t at his expense. David Beckham, 49, was once tight-knit with Harry, 40, attending his wedding to Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor in 2018. However, the Beckhams have since distanced themselves from the Duke and Duchess of Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍 for reasons that intrigue those beyond their inner circle.

In fact, David and Victoria Beckham, who boast a combined fortune of £455 million, were so close to the Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍es that they made a generous gesture leading up to their wedding. What lies beneath this shift in relationships remains a topic of fascination.

When Meghan Markle returned to Los Angeles and found paparazzi camped outside her mother’s home, the Beckhams stepped in, offering her the use of their six-bedroom Italian-style villa, complete with staff to cater to her needs. After Meghan moved into Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace, Victoria Beckham provided her with makeup advice and even arranged for a member of her staff to assist with facials and hairdressing—entirely free of charge.

However, when news of the Beckhams’ generosity leaked to the press, Meghan was reportedly outraged. Although the Beckhams denied any involvement in the leak, Harry and Meghan became distrustful of them. Despite attending the wedding ceremony, the Beckhams were not invited to the evening reception, which featured guests from the entertainment industry whom the Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍es barely knew.

Later, David Beckham honored Harry’s request to fly to Australia for the Invictus Games, a competition for injured servicemen and women. After making the lengthy 22-hour journey from London to Sydney, David discovered that Harry would not be available to see him or even be photographed together.

According to biographer Tom Bower, the reason behind this snub was Meghan. He claimed in his book Revenge that she wanted to avoid any media competition from David, stating, “It seemed she was not prepared to tolerate anything flattering regarding the Beckhams and the Games to appear in the media.”

It had been a different sporting event that brought Beckham together with Prince William. Both played an important part in the 2010 bid for the football World Cup. Although the bid was unsuccessful, the pair stayed in touch.

David had always been an ardent royalist, who would stand up for the Queen’s Speech every Christmas, dressed in his Sunday best. Years later, he queued for 12 hours to view the Queen’s coffin when her body was lying in state.

So it is, perhaps, no surprise that the Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍es’ attacks on the Royal Family failed to impressed the Beckhams.

‘Both David and Victoria put great importance on family and would never, ever turn on their relations the way that Harry and Meghan did,’ one of their associates tells me. ‘The truth is that Victoria never really liked Meghan much. She was friendly and welcoming to her but is not bothered about staying in touch.’

Given that David owns a football club in Miami and the couple have an increasingly prominent position in American society, it might seem natural that they would join the court of Harry and Meghan. Instead, the Beckhams are sticking with the Windsors.

If power couples were like football teams, this match would be a 2-0 result to William and Catherine.