Victoria Beckhams go to court in defence of their marriage

They have always insisted their marriage is a happy one. Now David and Victoria Beckham will have to prove it - in court.

They are challenging allegations that they have "cynically" presented a false image to the public to protect "Brand Beckham". The pair, who are suing the News Of The World for libel, will have to show that their marriage is as strong as they insist it is amid allegations of infidelity, rows and cruelty to each other.

The court hearing has been set for December 5 in London's law courts and is expected to be one of the biggest celebrity libel trials in living memory. David, 30, and Victoria, 31, are suing the newspaper over a story which claimed their marriage was on the rocks and that she had called her husband an "Essex yob".

They are also disputing the claim that rows have brought David to the edge of a nervous breakdown and threatened Victoria's health during her last pregnancy. They insist they are "a happily married couple" and anyone that says otherwise is lying, the Daily Mail reported.

A.M.