Blackpink receives MBEs from King Charles

K-pop

Published: 23 Nov. 2023, 11:51 Updated: 23 Nov. 2023, 18:58

Blackpink receives MBEs from King Charles

From left, Lisa, Rosé, Jisoo and Jennie, from Blackpink, pose with their MBE, Members of the Order of the British Empire, medals awarded to them in recognition of their role as COP26 advocates for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow 2021, by King Charles at Buckingham Palace in London on Wednesday. [AP/YONHAP]

Blackpink was invested with honorary Members of the British Empire (MBEs) by King Charles at Buckingham Palace in London on Wednesday.

The quartet — Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa and Rosé — accompanied President Yoon Suk Yeol during his state visit to Britain earlier this week.

Blackpink received the MBEs in recognition of the four members' role as advocates of COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021.

The special investiture was held Wednesday Morning at the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace, a room commonly used to welcome distinguished guests to the palace.

Rosé received a substantive MBE, while Jennie, Lisa and Jisoo received honorary MBEs, an official from the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told the Korea JoongAng Daily Thursday.

Rosé was able to receive the full version of the honor, as she has dual citizenship in New Zealand, where Charles is head of state. Honorary MBEs, while essentially being the same award as MBE, can only be given to citizens of countries where Charles is not the head of state.

Britain's King Charles III, left. presents the members of the K-Pop band Blackpink with MBEs, Member of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace, in London, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. [AP/YONHAP]

"I hope I shall be able to see you perform live at some point," Charles said as he awarded the order to four members of Blackpink.

The events were celebrated outside the palace, where the military band for the changing of the guard played Blackpink's "Ddu-du Ddu-du" (2018) alongside Psy's "Gangnam Style" (2012) Wednesday morning outside Buckingham Palace.

Charles also praised members of the group during a state banquet he hosted for Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee, where he said, "I applaud Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé, better known collectively as Blackpink, for their role in bringing the message of environmental sustainability to a global audience as ambassadors for the U.K.'s presidency of COP26, and later as advocates for the UN Sustainable Development Goals."

The MBE is the fifth class of the Order of the British Empire, given to honor those who made contributions to the arts, sciences, charitable work and public service.

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