Beckham

All of this will be worldwide news, but in the U.S. it will no doubt cause heads to be shaken and scratched in bemusement from Dubuque to Daytona Beach.

Who is this guy?

Leaving soccer and Beckham's many accomplishments on the field with Manchester United, Real Madrid and in three World Cups with England out of it altogether, the answer is simple and twofold.

David Robert Joseph Beckham is a celebrity and a brand. Soccer was the vehicle he rode to fame and fortune, but the 32-year-old has traveled far, far beyond those teenage years when he slogged through the winter rain and mud of Manchester.

There is, for instance, "Beckingham Palace," which is what the pun-loving British media dubbed the $15-million riverfront estate that the Beckhams bought in 1999 at Sawbridgeworth in the Hertfordshire countryside just outside London.

That was shortly after their marriage, a lavish affair at Luttrellstown Castle near Dublin. Setting a tone that would echo through the years, the ceremony and reception -- exclusive access was given to one magazine -- cost a reported $1 million and included the Beckhams smiling benevolently at their guests from golden thrones.

This sort of thing will go down well in Hollywood, where excess is often seen as a virtue and where the couple referred to by some English tabloids as "King David and Queen Victoria" will fit right in.

Their base here will be Beckingham Palace West, a $22-million, 13,000-square-foot villa they purchased in Beverly Hills in April and where their close neighbors include Cruise and Holmes.

Victoria is said to be decorating the place in Moroccan style, similar to their Madrid home, so Beckham will feel immediately at ease in his new surroundings.

No doubt he will feel even better once he starts putting a few cars in his new garage. Among his many and varied interests, Beckham is a car collector. In England, his fleet at one time or another has included a $220,000 Lamborghini Gallardo, plus an assortment of high-end Ferraris, Porsches, Jaguars and Mercedes-Benzes.

When he was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2003 for his services to soccer, Beckham received the honor from Queen Elizabeth and, suitably, made the trek from Beckingham Palace to Buckingham Palace in his silver Bentley Arnage.

His cars invariably involve some custom tinkering. In Spain, for example, he drove around in an armor-plated BMW X5 SUV that ended up being stolen, but also a $120,000 Range Rover V8 Vogue, with bulletproof doors and windows, a television and a 12-speaker stereo system.