After joking about his lack of “Gangnam Style” during his state banquet speech on Tuesday night, King Charles upped his K-pop cred on Wednesday.
The monarch gave honorary MBEs to band BLACKPINK in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace during the South Korean president’s state visit to the UK.
But it wasn’t their chart-topping success they were recognised for during the special investiture in the 1844 Room, held in the presence of the South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, and his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
It was in recognition of their role as COP26 advocates for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow 2021.
Roseanne Park (Rosé), who also has New Zealand citizenship, was invested as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), while bandmates Jennie Kim, Jisoo Kim and Lalisa Manoban (Lisa) were all given honorary status.
Blackpink were first appointed by the UK government as COP26 advocates in January 2021.
Through this role, the band encouraged millions of young people to engage with the global UN climate change conference and the topic of climate action.
MBEs are traditionally awarded on the recommendation of the UK government and handed out to British or Commonwealth citizens.
However, people who are not British or a national of a country where the King is head of state can be given an “honorary award”, according to the UK government’s website.
It looks like the royals were in full support of this government recommendation, with the military band even playing BLACKPINK outside the palace on Wednesday in celebration.
The royal family’s social media accounts shared a short clip of the band in action and jokingly referenced the famous Mean Girls movie quote: “On Wednesdays we wear pink”.
The members of the K-pop group also joined the royals for the state banquet on Tuesday night.
The four women were dressed in black, white and aquamarine coloured gowns for the white tie affair inside the palace, hosted in honour of President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee.
“It is especially inspiring to see Korea’s younger generation embrace the cause,” King Charles said during his state banquet speech.
“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 UK’s presidency of COP 26, and later as advocates for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
The Duchess of Edinburgh, who also attended the state banquet, was the president’s royal guide for Wednesday during a visit to the Royal Society.
Sophie joined him on a visit to the Royal Society for a roundtable discussion by notable UK and Korean scientific minds on how we can collectively strengthen the role of basic science to advance humanity.
The pair also viewed highlights from the Royal Society’s archives during the visit.
