K-Pop Stars BLACKPINK Receive Special Honors from King Charles — and Band Plays Their Song at the Palace

The King made all four members of the hit K-pop group MBEs during the visit by the Korean President on Wednesday

BLACKPINK has the royal seal of approval.

A few hours after the hit K-pop band received a shout-out from King Charles at the glittering state banquet on Tuesday, they received special honors from him at Buckingham Palace.

The four members of the band — Roseanne Park (Rosé), Jennie Kim, Jisoo Kim and Lalisa Manoban (Lisa) — were invested with honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) at a ceremony watched by the South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

The women were given the awards during a private Investiture on Wednesday morning in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace. The honors were made on the recommendation of the U.K. government following their vocal support for the campaign to highlight climate change.

Related: BLACKPINK Attends Palace Banquet During South Korea State Visit — with a Shout Out from King Charles!

Tribute was also made to the official visitors from Korea as music from the foursome — who are thought to be the most successful all-female pop band in the world — was played by the military band of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards on the palace forecourt during the changing of the guard.

"On Wednesdays, we play Blackpink," courtiers captioned the video of the band playing "DDU-DU DDU-D," changing up the popular quote from Mean Girls.

In his speech on Tuesday night, King Charles praised the members of the girl group for being advocates for the planet. Listening from their seats at the sumptuous state banquet in the palace ballroom, they appeared visibly and charmingly surprised.)

"It is especially inspiring to see Korea’s younger generation embrace the cause,” the King, who has made conservation one of his primary causes for decades, 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 as Ambassadors for the U.K.’s Presidency of COP 26, and later as advocates for the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.”

BLACKPINK released a series of videos aimed at educating young people about the issue and it resulted in significantly increased engagement with the Summit from a young audience.

They have also been appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as global Ambassadors for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The MBEs are one of a series of medals and honors that can be awarded by the King on behalf of the government.

During his address at the state banquet, King Charles, 75, enjoyed highlighting the cultural hits of Korea. “I can only admire how they can prioritize these vital issues, as well as being global superstars,” Charles continued. “Sadly, when I was in Seoul all those years ago, I am not sure I developed much of what might be called the Gangnam Style!” he said, before turning towards the President and enjoying a chuckle at his fun reference to the viral hit song by South Korean singer Psy released in 2013.

Earlier in the speech, the King touched on how Korea's influence on pop culture rivals the reach of the United Kingdom.

"Korea has matched Danny Boyle with Bong Joon-ho, James Bond with Squid Game and the Beatles' 'Let It Be' with BTS’s 'Dynamite,' " he said. "Our cultures share a remarkable ability to captivate imaginations across the world, transforming a so-called soft power into a shared superpower."

Related: Kate Middleton Has Major Princess Moment in Diamond Tiara That Hasn't Been Worn Since the 1930s

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Kate Middleton and Prince William were also at the evening event, and they conducted the important duty of greeting the presidential couple at their hotel in London on behalf of the King earlier on Tuesday.

They then traveled together to Horse Guards Parade, where they joined King Charles and Queen Camilla for the ceremonial welcome, which included two ceremonial gun salutes (at Green Park and the Tower of London) of 41 shots sounding across the city.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.