Hans Müller, 72, says he has been researching the Pfänder family for years, but recently discovered that Carl Heinrich Pfänder (1819-1876), the son of a Heilbronn cooper who emigrated to London after taking part in the worker’s movement, is former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham’s great-great-great-grandfather. The communist revolutionary from southwest Germany was an artist and painted miniatures for work in London.
Born Victoria Adams, Beckham is famous for her flashy lifestyle, but her German roots are humble. Pfänder “didn’t get rich,” Müller said. “His wife was buried in a pauper’s grave in London.”
According to Müller, Posh’s forefather left Germany for London because it had “become a bit tight politically.”
“He participated in the 1848 revolution and was with Friedrich Engels at the famous battle in Waghäusl,” Müller said, adding that the revolutionary had also belonged to communist organizations in London.
Müller, who travelled to London three times in the course of his research, says he also discovered that football star David Beckham’s wife has musical roots too. Pfänder’s brother Wilhelm was choral singer and revolutionary who was also active in the revolution and emigrated to America in 1848, going on to become state treasurer in Minnesota.
Müller has been in touch with the pop star’s mother Jaqueline, who confirmed his assertions and promised to tell her daughter, he said.