LONDON – King Charles on Nov 22 presented K-pop girl group Blackpink with honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) medals in the presence of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during his state visit to the United Kingdom, Buckingham Palace said.

The quartet – Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rose – chatted, laughed and took photographs with the British monarch as he presented the medals.

“It’s amazing you’re still talking to each other after all these years,” King Charles jokingly said to the band at the ceremony. “I hope I shall be able to see you perform live at some point.”

Blackpink received the MBEs in recognition of the members’ roles as COP26 Advocates for the United Nations climate summit held in Glasgow in 2021, Buckingham Palace said.

Rose posted a photo of her MBE medal on her Instagram Stories with a simple caption, “So grateful”, while Lisa posted a snapshot of the members’ invitation cards.

The Thai rapper also posted several pictures of herself getting ready for the state banquet. “It has been such a great honour to be part of this special Korean State Banquet at Buckingham Palace,” she wrote.

Blackpink made history in July becoming the first K-pop group to headline a major British music festival, taking the stage at the BST Hyde Park summer festival in central London in front of a crowd of 65,000 for a sold-out concert.

Since their debut in 2016, Blackpink have become one of the most successful girl groups in the world, breaking records such as becoming the most-subscribed music artistes on YouTube. REUTERS