Harper Beckham has once again been dragged into another unholy row between her family and estranged brother Brooklyn, accused of being a pawn in David and Victoria’s ruthless PR operation against their eldest son.

But let’s spare a thought for the 14-year-old. It’s bad enough that she was dressed up by her mother Victoria to watch her dad’s acceptance of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday. Harper wore an age-inappropriate, deep V-neck pink frock from Victoria’s own VB designer range – not especially flattering on a teenager’s figure.

This in itself would be enough to reinforce her older brother Brooklyn’s claim that his parents have always used their children as PR opportunities – as props, in other words. Why was Harper wearing one of her mum’s eye-wateringly expensive dresses – doesn’t she have the independence to dress like a regular teenager?

Let’s not forget that the Beckhams have a long history of monetising their kids and using them for their own advancement. Brooklyn was only a toddler when he appeared at football games on David’s shoulders wearing his father’s Manchester United kit.

It may have seemed at the time like a lovely family display, but that is where this feud arguably started – culminating in Brooklyn’s plea, in a notorious Instagram post in January, for his family to leave him and his wife alone. He claimed that the Beckham children have always been used as accessories in their parents’ ruthless PR operation.

Now we know, thanks to my colleague Alison Boshoff’s report in Monday’s Daily Mail, that Harper was staying with her family (minus Brooklyn) in a luxury LA hotel following David’s induction into the Hall of Fame.

Four hours after the event, she – supposedly unbeknownst to her parents – was taken by a chauffeur-driven limousine to the front door of Brooklyn and his wife Nicola’s Beverly Hills mansion, where she delivered a handwritten letter apparently beseeching her big brother for a reconciliation.

Conveniently, Harper was photographed by paparazzi outside Brooklyn’s home wearing the same striking pink VB slip she had been wearing earlier that day. Another photo op, then, for the dress, which soon went viral with sales soaring.

So, the Battle of the Beckhams began again. Soon after Harper’s visit, Brooklyn posted a picture on Instagram of himself out jogging in New York City, making clear he was on the other side of the country and, perhaps, to prove he was metaphorically running away from the Beckham psychodrama.

Brooklyn’s legal team then whirred into action to claim the visit was all a set-up by Brand Beckham.

They insisted: ‘The fact that photographers were already in place to capture Harper’s visit says it all – this was choreographed for the cameras.’

Beckham family ‘insiders’ hit back immediately, claiming that Brooklyn is ‘mean’ and ‘heartless’. A friend insisted that Victoria and David had no idea about Harper’s plan, adding: ‘She went off her own bat, to drop something off’, but ‘had they known her intentions, they would have been supportive of her actions’.

In this tale of spin and counter-spin, who should we believe? I have my views.

First, let’s consider how likely it is that Harper, barely a teenager, could sneak out of the family’s luxury LA hotel, past their extensive personal security detail, without anyone noticing.

Second, there’s the fact that her vehicle of choice was not an Uber, but a chauffeured limo. Are we meant to believe that she organised that herself?

Third, is it plausible that a photographer just happened to be waiting outside Brooklyn’s mansion and ‘got lucky’ during Harper’s momentary visit?

And lastly, if Harper was really sneaking off in the hope of seeing her big brother, wouldn’t she be wearing something like the scruffy jeans, white cotton top and flip flops she was spotted in on the same visit?

Then there’s what I know from my long history as an editor of a national newspaper: Victoria Beckham, in her early Spice Girls days, was famously eager to tip us off as to her whereabouts and what she’d be wearing, for a hefty price. This has long been her Wannabe modus operandi.

Perhaps those desperate, money-grabbing habits die hard.

The Beckhams certainly don’t need the money now – but what they do crave and have always craved is attention. A public row is always good for business, and the Harper story has certainly delivered that.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn, too, is cashing out on the feud. On Monday, he posted an 11-second clip on his Instagram page in collaboration with the food delivery service DoorDash, in which he made light of the fallout with a series of hidden messages.

In the ad, he says to the camera: ‘You’re probably wondering why I’m watching the FIFA World Cup 2026 from home…’

Smirking, he then says: ‘It’s a long story.’

There were other shady messages in the ad. Brooklyn is seen removing the £250,000 Patek Philippe Nautilus watch reportedly gifted to him by his father, while a stack of unopened letters sits on a nearby table.

A friend of the Beckhams told Katie Hind: ‘To do an advert based on estrangement from family as if it’s a joke when his family is devastated and his sister and grandparents are inconsolable is shocking.’

It’s Harper I feel for in this sorry saga. Brooklyn’s friends claim that he loves his sister but believes any ongoing contact puts her in ‘too difficult a position’. How utterly gutless is that?

My big brother Michael would have died in a ditch protecting me. He would never, ever, have abandoned me.

And all this drama played worldwide as Harper is about to launch her new skincare range ‘HIKU by Harper’ next year. But – guess what? – the brand is overseen and orchestrated by mum Victoria.

Shame on Brooklyn for abandoning his sister. Shame on the Beckhams for using their daughter as a pawn in this ugly feud. The whole ‘Harper Pawn Saga’ starts to stink like a raw prawn left out in the sun.