David Beckham: Here's Me at My 40th!
He whisked his nearest and dearest away to an exclusive hotel 2000 miles away to celebrate his milestone 40th birthday.
But David Beckham ensured his fans did not miss out on the star-studded party, reported to have cost £250,000, - by joining Instagram for the first time and posting a series of pictures over 24 hours which saw him acquire nearly 4m followers.
As the sun rose above the luxury Amanjena resort near Marrakesh, Morocco, on Saturday, the former England football captain shared an early morning snap of himself from his bed on the social networking site.
It signalled the start of a day which included a camel ride with his sons, as guests continued to jet in for the evening’s Arabian-themed revelries which did not end until 7am on Sunday.
Celebrities including Strictly co-host Claudia Winkleman, 43, who used budget airline EasyJet, TV chef Gordon Ramsay, his wife Tana, Hollywood actress Eva Longoria, 40, and hairdresser Jason Collier – who no doubt ensured tresses were camera-ready for Instagram - all found themselves on the invited list.
Mrs Beckham’s former Spice Girls band members, Melanie Chisholm, 41, Emma Bunton, 39 and Geri Halliwell, 42, also made an appearance but Mel Brown, 39, was notably absent. It has been rumoured in the past that Mrs Beckham, 41, does not approve of Miss Brown’s husband Stephen Belafonte, 39. It was left to Miss Longoria to make up for Miss Brown by dubbing herself ‘Latina Spice’ in pictures posted.
Beckham was presented with not one but four Red Velvet (his favourite) birthday cakes – one from each of his children Brooklyn, 16, Romeo, 12, Cruz, 10, and Harper, three.
The children left birthday messages for their father in icing on the vanilla cakes which were made with fresh berries by staff at the hotel.
Beckham’s birthday party was held in a Berber tent in the grounds of the luxury resort and saw family and friends dine on traditional Moroccan food including monkfish tagine and whole lambs roasted in holes dug in the earth.