Blackpink Makes History After Being Awarded with Honorary MBEs by The Royal Family
The K-pop quartet are the first non-British musicians to be honoured with this prestigious title.
The iconic four members of K-pop sensation Blackpink got to rub shoulders with royalty recently as Lisa, Rosé, Jennie and Jisoo were awarded as honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by King Charles himself. The award was bestowed upon the group for their climate change advocacy as COP26 Advocates for the United Nations climate summit held in Glasgow in 2021. The history-making ceremony was held on November 22 at the Buckingham Palace with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee in attendance.
The popular K-pop quartet join the ranks of other musicians who've been awarded MBEs such as Adele, Ed Sheeran and Mel B of Spice Girls. Notably, Blackpink are the first non-British musicians to be given such an award, making it truly a hallmark achievement for the group.
The singers were also given special mention by King Charles at the state banquet that occured earlier this week where His Majesty said, "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 Conference of the Parties (COP) 26, and later as advocates for the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals."
King Charles also went on to acknowledge South Korea's cultural contibutions on a global scale, stating, "Korea has matched Danny Boyle with Bong Joon-ho, James Bond with Squid Game and the Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ with BTS’s ‘Dynamite'. Our cultures share a remarkable ability to captivate imaginations across the world, transforming a so-called soft power into a shared superpower."
Congratulations to Blackpink!
