The best person David Beckham has ever met is Britain's Queen Elizabeth.

The former England captain was raised in a patriotic family and he says nothing in his life can compare to meeting Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace in London.

Beckham, 39, explained to The Sunday Times newspaper: ''[Queen Elizabeth] is the most amazing woman. I'm a real traditionalist. I'm a real royalist. The fact that I've been to Buckingham Palace and I've been able to meet the Queen, that's the best thing I've ever done. She's amazing.

''My grandparents brought me up to be a real royalist. They would make us sit down on Christmas Day and watch the Queen's speech and they would take us to the changing of the guard.''

Beckham - whose wife Victoria, 40, recently opened her first clothing store in London - says that now he has retired from football, he is looking forward to a new chapter in his life.

He explained: ''I wouldn't say I have a bucketlist... I'm relatively young. You definitely start to embrace things a lot more.''

Among the things he is keen to sample is snowboarding, which he was forbidden from doing during his playing days.