BLACKPINK, the renowned South Korean girl group, has been granted honorary membership in the Order of the British Empire.

In a special investiture ceremony on November 22 at Buckingham Palace, King Charles presented all four members of BLACKPINK with honorary MBEs. Notably, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee were also present during the investiture ceremony. 

On the Royal Family’s official social media accounts, they also shared clips of the BLACKPINK members receiving their honorary MBEs from King Charles. “The K-pop band have been awarded the honors in recognition of their role as advocates for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow,” they captioned the post. 

For those unfamiliar, the MBEs are part of a series of medals and honors that the King can confer on behalf of the government.

According to reports, Rosé, holding dual New Zealand citizenship and being a national of a British realm, received a “substantive” MBE. This distinguishes her from the purely honorary recognition bestowed upon the three remaining members: Jisoo, Jennie, and Lisa. 

Another historic feat for BLACKPINK 

As recognition stems from their pivotal role as official advocates for the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, the Royal Family further commended BLACKPINK for their vocal support for the campaign to raise awareness about climate change. 

A day prior to the investiture ceremony, King Charles also hosted a banquet at Buckingham Palace for the South Korean president and first lady, with all four BLACKPINK members in attendance. 

In his banquet speech, King Charles commended Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé, for effectively conveying the message of environmental sustainability to a global audience while balancing their roles as international superstars. Based on the clips circulating online, the members were visibly surprised by the acknowledgment of their pivotal role. 

Moreover, BLACKPINK’s contributions for this initiative extended beyond verbal support. As the group also released educational videos aimed at enlightening the younger generation about climate issues. Which led to the group being appointed as global ambassadors for the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals. 

With this, BLACKPINK has now become the first and only non-British musical artist to receive this prestigious honorary award. Furthermore, they’ll be joining notable musical artists such as The Beatles (1965), Adele (2013), and Ed Sheeran (2017) as recipients of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). 

On social media, fans of the group are overjoyed with BLACKPINK’s latest achievement. On top of that, they’re also delighted to see all four members together again amidst the group’s ongoing contract renewal negotiation with YG Entertainment.

Featured image: BLACKPINK poses with their honorary MBEs. Credit: Twitter/Royal Family