BLACKPINK’s Jennie Shows Off Her Honorary MBE, Reveals It Was a ‘Huge Honour’ to Receive It from King Charles and Attend the State Banquet

BLACKPINK’s Jennie has welcomed the “huge honor” of being involved in the Korean president’s state visit to Britain this week, during which she was awarded an honorary MBE. .

The K-pop band received the honor from King Charles III on Wednesday for their work in raising awareness about climate change, and on Thursday Jennie Kim showed off the medal on her Instagram.

The Royal Family invested Jennie, Jisoo Kim and Lalisa Manoban (Lisa) as Honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of the band’s role as COP26 Advocates for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow 2021.

While bandmate Roseanne (Rosé) Park also received an MBE, although hers came without the ‘honorary’ qualification because she has dual citizenship in New Zealand, one of 14 countries where the British monarch is head of state.

Jennie shared a slew of photos from the state banquet at Buckingham Palace, posing with her MBE for her 82 million followers.

The beauty looked chic in a black tweed dress with diamond buttons and pearls.

She paired the stunning ensemble with a cropped blazer and she added height to her frame with black heels.

She captioned the photos: “A huge honor to receive the honorary MBEs and attend the South Korean and British State Banquet at Buckingham Palace.”

Noting the band’s commitment to promoting climate conservation, King Charles said, “It’s especially inspiring to see Korea’s younger generation embracing the cause.”

“I applaud Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé, known collectively as BLACKPINK, for their role in bringing the message of environmental sustainability to a global audience as ambassadors for the UK Presidency of COP 26, and later as advocates for the UN Sustainable Development. Goals.’

As each band member was mentioned, they exchanged glances and suppressed smiles in a shy display of excitement.

Blackpink was first appointed as COP26 Advocates by the UK government in January 2021. Non-UK nationals may be eligible for an award for their work in the UK.

The group released a series of videos aimed at encouraging young people to learn more about climate change, which the government said resulted in “significantly greater engagement” at the top from young audiences.

The band has subsequently been appointed as global ambassadors for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Arriving at the palace in a series of gray and black outfits, decidedly more subdued than their usual provocative looks, the girls lined up and were each presented with their medals by a smiling Charles in the Chamber of 1844.

And it seems the Royal Family are big fans, as Charles seemed delighted to give the girls their honorary MBEs, in a video shared by the Royal Family on X.

And yesterday, a social media clip outside the palace captured the moment the Coldstream Guards Band performed a rendition of DDU-DU DDU-DU – one of Blackpink’s biggest hits.

However, it seems that while most people on social media were excited about the news, some voiced their criticism and called the move ‘ridiculous’.

“More abuse of the honor system,” one person wrote. “It’s becoming pointless.”

“Didn’t know you could buy those titles,” read a second hit.

However, others said that ‘nobody does it like them’ while praising Blackpink.

“A nice gesture from the king, and well deserved,” read one comment.

Another added: “They deserve every recognition they get every year.”

‘Truly an inspiration for all of us!!’ a third commented.

After receiving their awards, the girls posed for official photos, including one with the President of the Republic of Korea and the First Lady, who were present to witness the moment.

Korean culture has seen an explosion in popularity, with the music known as K-pop becoming a global youth phenomenon.

Alongside bands like BTS, Blackpink is at the forefront of the genre, shattering records including most subscribed and viewed music artist on YouTube and highest-grossing tour by a female group.