King Charles wears many hats and it looks as though honorary BLINK is one of them. This week, during South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol State Visit to the United Kingdom, the King welcomed global pop Royalty to Buckingham Palace. On Wednesday, the members of Blackpink were awarded with Honorary MBEs, or Member of the Order of the British Empire.
The bandmates accepted the honor, which recognizes contributions to the arts and sciences, while wearing their best tailored fashion. Lisa was in the most colorful mood of the bunch, pulling a pastel fitted dress and matching tweed cape that she paired with white heels. To her right, Jennie looked buttoned up in a longline tweed dress and matching cropped jacket, both of which were trimmed with statement buttons and black and white details. Jisoo continued Jennie’s embrace of monochrome with a cap-sleeve skirt set that she cinched with a butterfly belt. Rosé looked the edgiest of the bunch, in a semi-sheer blouse and an elegant Saint Laurent suit that was designed with sloped shoulders and a wide-legged silhouette.
There have been previous MBE honorees from the music industry, most notably The Beatles, Ed Sheeran, and Adele. But not since the Spice Girls mingled with, and kissed, the now-King in 1997 has a girl group-Royal crossover of this magnitude occurred. And it looks like Buckingham Palace naturally rolled out the red carpet for the four stars (the King’s orchestra even played a rendition of the group’s hit song “DDU-DU DDU-DU”).
The night prior, Blackpink attended a State Banquet (alongside members of the Royal family and foreign dignitaries) where they dazzled in statement evening gowns. Lisa again embraced color, with a show-stopping Georges Hobeika number while Jennie looked angelic in a draped, off-the-shoulder dress from Lihi Hod. Jisoo and Rosé both went with black pieces—the former, a dainty puff sleeve look from Dior while the latter embraced a strapless, column dress.
During an address to the night’s almost 200 attendees, Charles applauded South Korea’s commitment to the arts and strides in sustainability—even shouting out Blackpink for their commitment to the latter, which appeared to take the four members by surprise.
“It is especially inspiring to see Korea’s younger generation embrace the cause,” the Monarch said. “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.”
