Features

King Charles awards Blackpink Honorary MBEs

King Charles awarded the K-Pop girl band Blackpink with Honorary MBEs of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace during the Korean State Visit to the United Kingdom. Blackpink members Roseanne Park (Rosé), Jennie Kim, Jisoo Kim and Lalisa Manoban (Lisa) were all presented with their honours for their role as COP26 Advocates for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow 2021. Each member…
Read more
Features

What happened to the Korean monarchy?

When you think of Asian monarchies, Japan, Bhutan, and Thailand come to mind. However, Korea was once a monarchy, as well. A united Korean Empire (before the Korean War that led to the split into North and South Korea) existed from October 1897 until Korea was annexed by Japan in August 1910. Before that, the Joseon Dynasty reigned over Korea (under the Great Joseon State) from July 1392 until…
Read more
Features

The King who created an alphabet

In Korea, they use the Hangul alphabet to write; it didn’t come into creation until 1443 AD, thanks to a monarch who reigned from 1418 to 1450. And as King Charles welcomed the President of South Korea to the UK for a State Visit, His Majesty referenced the creation…
Features

The message in a royal engagement ring - Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

Theirs was an engagement announcement that threatened the monarchy’s stability, but the ring upon Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby’s ring finger symbolised nearly a century of royal love matches, and theirs would, in time, be no different. Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit met in July 1999 at a music festival and began dating afterwards. At the time, the “Cinderella from Kristiansand,”…
Read more
Features

The future queen and a romantic gem forever linked to her royal family's home

For a future Queen of Denmark, an engagement ring inspired by the flag of her new home country was the choice of her groom. Crown Prince Frederik and Mary Donaldson, an Australian marketing executive, had been dating since the late summer of 2000, having met at the Slip Inn in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympics. The young royal did not reveal his identity to Mary; she only found out he was…
Read more