Posh and Becks Renew Their Vows In Secret Ceremony With Matching Tattoos

David and Victoria Beckham have renewed their marriage vows in a secret ceremony - and had matching tattoos as a permanent reminder of the occasion.

The footballer organised the whole ceremony at Beckingham Palace himself and only told a stunned Posh on the day.

Only a handful of friends and family were at the intimate ceremony in a marked contrast to the lavish nature of their first wedding nine years ago.

One friend said after the ceremony: "We were in tears. It was beautiful and very non-showbiz."



Back in 1999, Posh and Becks had tied the knot in an Irish castle in front of a cast of thousands and famously also had an ostentatious throne each to sit on.

Wall-to-wall pictures of the day were published in a lucrative magazine deal, but this time they have managed to keep the ceremony under wraps for almost two years.

As a permanent reminder of the day, they now have matching tattoos of the Roman numerals VIII.V.MMVI, which stand for the date of the ceremony - March 8, 2006.

Posh, 33, had the tattoo done two weeks later and also has the Latin phrase De Integro meaning "Again from the start" above the date. David, 32, has the same phrase tattooed on his body.

He arranged the whole day without even telling Victoria, according to the Daily Mirror.

The Spice Girl only discovered the truth after her husband flew her from Madrid to their palatial home in Hertfordshire and went done on one knee to ask her to marry him for the second time.

A stunned Posh gasped "Yes" and the couple went on to renew their vows with their two older sons Brooklyn and Romeo looking on as page boys.

Victoria later told a friend: "It was the second best day of my life - after our first wedding."

David began masterminding the couple's second wedding after they had their third son, Cruz, while he was playing for Real Madrid.

He secretly invited their closest friends and family and even had a white dress made to fit his wife.

A friend said: "David was meticulously planning the big day for months. It was a huge undertaking to keep it all under wraps.

"He was desperately excited but had had to keep quiet with everyone but his and Victoria's closest family.

"Only a handful of people were at the ceremony and they've managed to keep it under wraps for nearly two years.

"It was an incredibly beautiful day and everyone lucky enough to be present was in tears when they repeated their vows.

"It was simple, beautiful and very non-showbiz. It was about them as a couple and a family unit - not glitz and glamour."

Victoria was apparently stunned at how much trouble David had gone to to keep the day a secret and cried when he proposed on arrival at their lavish home in Sawbridgeworth.

The friend said: "As she arrived he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him again. They were both in tears and she immediately said Yes.

"Victoria couldn't believe the lengths he had gone to to make it a perfect day - she was truly lost for words.

"He had personally overseen everything, from the flowers to the cake - even a beautiful white dress he knew she had her eye on."

David did not even stop there, and the next day whisked his wife to Paris where he showered her with gifts.

The friend added: "David took her shopping to Azzedine Alaia and Colette, two of her favourite stores, and told her to choose anything she wanted as a wedding gift.



"Their suite was filled with hundreds of roses. It was like a dream come true - the setting could not have been more beautiful.

"Everything was perfect - and Posh's tattoo with the date of the event reminds her of it every day."

The Beckhams' marriage appears to have had a new lease of life since the couple moved to the U.S. last year after David signed with LA Galaxy.

He accompanied Victoria during part of the Spice Girl reunion tour and during a family day out in December they appeared more in love than ever.

It has not always been so - particularly during David's playing days at Real Madrid when he allegedly had an affair with his assistant, Rebecca Loos.

Loos sold her story to a tabloid newspaper in April 2004 and blamed David's wandering eye on Victoria's lack of commitment to life in Spain.

The couple also narrowly avoided airing their dirty laundry in public when they dropped out of a libel action against a newspaper in 2006.

They sued after the paper claimed their marriage was a sham and little more than a business arrangement.

The case eventually ended with a "confidential settlement" after two years of legal wrangling and never went to court.