Blackpink members receive honorary MBEs from King Charles

Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), Rose (Roseanne Park), Jisoo Kim and Jennie Kim of Blackpink pose with their Honorary MBEs REUTERS.

LONDON—King Charles on Wednesday presented the K-pop band Blackpink with honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) medals in the presence of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during his state visit to the United Kingdom, Buckingham Palace said.

Britain’s King Charles presents the members of the K-Pop band Blackpink Rose (Roseanne Park), Jisoo Kim, Jennie Kim, and Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), with Honorary MBEs (MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) during a special investiture ceremony in the presence of the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol (not pictured), and his wife, Kim Keon Hee (not pictured), at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain November 22, 2023. Victoria Jones/Pool via REUTERS

The quartet—Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rose—chatted, laughed and took photographs with the British monarch as he presented the medals.

“It’s amazing you’re still talking to each other after all these years,” King Charles jokingly said to the band at the ceremony. “I hope I shall be able to see you perform live at some point.”

Blackpink received the MBEs in recognition of the bank members’ role as COP26 Advocates for the United Nations climate summit held in Glasgow in 2021, Buckingham Palace said.

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Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), Jennie Kim, President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, Britain’s King Charles, First Lady of South Korea Kim Keon Hee, Rose (Roseanne Park), and Jisoo Kim following a special investiture ceremony to present the members of the K-Pop band Blackpink with Honorary MBEs (MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), conducted by King Charles in the presence of the President and his wife at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain November 22, 2023. Victoria Jones/Pool via REUTERS

Blackpink made history in July, becoming the first K-pop group to headline a major UK music festival and took to the stage at the BST Hyde Park summer festival in central London in front of a crowd of 65,000 for a sold-out concert.

Since their debut in 2016, Blackpink has become one of the most successful girl groups in the world, breaking records such as becoming the most subscribed to music artists on YouTube. —Reuters