Whatever David Beckham secretly wished for as he staged his lavish 50th birthday celebrations, it certainly would not have been to witness the hurtful spectacle of his own sons at war.

Nevertheless, his various parties, in France, London and the Cotswolds, have all been overshadowed by the enduring rift that has pitted his eldest son Brooklyn, and his wife Nicola Peltz on one side, and the rest of the family on the other.

Brooklyn, 26, and aspiring actress Nicola, 30, have been notably absent from all the various stages of his father’s parties, fuelling much speculation in the media as to the cause.

The pair were not at David’s birthday dinner at Core restaurant in Notting Hill, west London at the weekend.

They also failed to join David and Victoria and their other children Romeo, Cruz and Harper when the family flew to France for a day of celebrations on Friday.

And they were also absent from a big family party at the Beckhams’ £10million Cotswolds estate last Wednesday, when David and Victoria were joined by their parents and siblings.

That their eldest son, owner of hot sauce brand Cloud23, should fail to turn up was even more surprising since Brooklyn and Nicola were in London the entire time, having jetted in from their Los Angeles home.

Among the various conspiracy theories that have sprung up to explain Brooklyn’s repeated no-shows, some have centred on Romeo’s girlfriend, DJ and entrepreneur Kim Turnbull, 25.

Kim, is the well-heeled granddaughter of renowned post-war sculptor and painter William Turnbull, while her father Alex Turnbull and uncle Johnny were part of the post-punk band 23 Skidoo, formed in 1979.

She previously dated Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s son Rocco, and through that connection was part of a tightknit friendship group in 2016 which included Brooklyn Beckham.

Kim and Brooklyn were undeniably close for a brief period – as photographs of them together at the time show – but suggestions that they were ever an item are wide of the mark, according to well-informed sources.

That Kim has now been ‘thrown to the wolves’ as the reason behind the family row is ‘deeply upsetting’ to Brooklyn’s parents and brothers.

In fact, younger brother Cruz, 20, personally shut down the gossip recently when he responded to an Instagram post showing a picture of Romeo and Kim together.

In a now-deleted message, one user commented: ‘It’s appropriate to date your brother’s ex too? Cool.’

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