David Beckham is ''devastated'' by the death of his grandmother.

The retired soccer star and his family are mourning the loss of his 83-year-old grandmother Peggy West, who reportedly suffered a stroke and passed away in hospital in the early hours of Friday morning (08.11.13).

A source told the Sunday People newspaper: ''He is absolutely devastated. He and Peggy were very close. Becks spoke to her often. The whole family is grieving for a wonderful woman right now.''

Peggy, who was David's mum Sandra's mother, lost her husband Joseph in 2009 and had been living in an East London nursing home for the past two years.

The former England captain shared a special bond with his grandparents and used to visit their London home every weekend as a child while his father was working.

A friend of David's confirmed to the MailOnline: ''Peggy was suffering from a long illness, she'd had a stroke and was in hospital. She was on a life-support machine but sadly she died in the early hours of Friday morning. David is really upset. He was extremely close to both Peggy and Joseph.''

The 38-year-old sportsman took his sons Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 12, and eight-year-old Cruz to watch the QBE International rugby match at Twickenham on Saturday (09.11.13) in a bid to cheer his family up.

David - who also has two-year-old daughter Harper with his wife Victoria Beckham - put on a brave face as he watched England battle it out against Argentina from the VIP box.