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 thanked the King for the MBE and gave a short curtsy, except for Thai Lisa who used the traditional Thai bow instead to thank His Majesty.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe band also served as UN Special Advocates for the Sustainable Development Goals, getting the appointment in 2021 alongside Queen Mathilde of Belgium.
Unlike the other members of Blackpink, member Rosé’s MBE was invested as a Realm national. She was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia.
Embed from Getty ImagesPresident Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee of Korea were on hand to watch the group be awarded by the King in the 1844 Room. The group then posed for photographs after the investiture.
Jennie told the King that receiving the Order was “the most honorable thing for us.”
King Charles told Jennie to try on the MBE, to which she responded: “I will try it on at my house.”
Embed from Getty ImagesKing Charles told Blackpink that he hopes to see them perform in the future. The group, considered the biggest girl group in the world, just finished their Born Pink World Tour which saw them perform in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and Oceania. It ran from October 2022 until September 2023.
Blackpink released a series of videos as advocates for COP26 aimed at young people to encourage them to learn more about climate change. This caused a significant jump in engagement with COP26 with the youth.
The band consists of two Korean members (Jisoo and Jennie), one Australian (Rosé) and one Thai (Lisa). They debuted in 2016 with YG Entertainment and have gone on to set records across the globe. They also have a massive following on social media.
