They were awarded in the presence of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol
King Charles on Wednesday presented the K-Pop band BLACKPINK with honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire medals for their work fighting climate change. The four members of the band — Roseanne Park (Rose), Jennie Kim, Jisoo Kim, and Lalisa Manoban (Lisa) were awarded in the presence of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during his state visit to the United Kingdom.
This prestigious award was presented to them in recognition of their role as COP26 Advocates for the United Nations climate summit held in Glasgow in 2021, Buckingham Palace said. The band members chatted, laughed, and took photographs with the British monarch as he presented the medals. The MBEs were presented in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace.
''The King, joined by The President and First Lady of the Republic of Korea, has welcomed special guests @blackpinkofficial to Buckingham Palace, as they are awarded Honorary MBEs,'' caption of the video shared by the Royal family read.
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During the ceremony, King Charles praised the band saying, ''It is especially inspiring to see Korea's younger generation embrace the cause. 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 COP 26, and later as advocates for the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.''
He also joked to the band, "It's amazing you're still talking to each other after all these years." He added, "I hope I shall be able to see you perform live at some point."
Apart from the awards, BLACKPINK's music was also played by the military band of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards on the palace forecourt during the changing of the guard. ''On Wednesdays, we play Blackpink,'' the video was captioned.
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The last girl group to be welcomed to the palace and visit Charles was the Spice Girls in 1997.
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 music artists on YouTube. Blackpink has a huge fan base with more than 55 million followers on Instagram.