Barack Obama meets the Queen and tours Westminster Abbey

Barack Obama has met the Queen and other members of the royal family on the first day of his state visit to Britain, inspecting the guard at Buckingham palace, laying a wreath at Westminster Abbey and playing table tennis with schoolchildren.Traversing the capital on Tuesday in a multi-vehicle, heavily-guarded motorcade with their armoured limousine, "the beast", at its centre, the Obamas began by meeting the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace, where they are spending the night in the Belgian suite. They also talked to the newlyweds the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.The more substantive, political part of the trip will come on Wednesday, with a speech by Obama at Westminster Hall to both houses of parliament. In a joint newspaper article, the president and the prime minister earlier hailed the essential elationship between the US and UK.After the introductions this morning came a 41-gun salute in Green Park, the playing of the US national anthem, and Obama's formal inspection of the Ist Battalion Scots Guards, the guard of honour, in the palace gardens, followed by a supposedly "informal" lunch for 60 people.There were, however, more intimate moments, including a monarch-guided tour of the royal picture collection, featuring a special exhibit of items detailing Britain's loss of the American colonies. That was only a temporary blip in the relationship, the president joked.
Later, the Obamas arrived at Westminster Abbey to be greeted by cheering crowds, acknowledged by the president with cheery waves. Inside, Obama laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown warrior and heard the abbey's choir sing.After the abbey , the Obamas made a brief visit the Camerons at Downing Street, from where the president and prime minister left without their wives to visit a south London school. Cameron and Obama, in shirt sleeves and high fiving winning shots, teamed up in game of table tennis doubles against school children.The visitors are also scheduled to meet Ed Miliband at Buckingham Palace, where they will later attend a full state banquet in their honour.Obama arrived in the UK from Ireland on Air Force One late on Monday, earlier than planned, to avoid the volcanic ash cloud moving south-east from Iceland. Most of the hard political talking between Obama and Cameron will take place on Wednesday. Issues are expected to include Libya, the Arab spring, and counter-terrorism. The prime minister is also hopeful the two leaders can assert that they are aligned on tackling financial deficits.Earlier on Tuesday, Obama and Cameron said that despite being two leaders from two different political traditions, they saw eye to eye. In a jointly penned article for the Tmes, they said: "When the United States and Britain stand together, our people and people around the world can become more secure and more prosperous.
"And that is the key to our relationship. Yes, it is founded on a deep emotional connection, by sentiment and ties of people and culture. But the reason it thrives, the reason why this is such a natural partnership, is because it advances our common interests and shared values."It is a perfect alignment of what we both need and what we both believe. And the reason it remains strong is because it delivers time and again. Ours is not just a special relationship, it is an essential relationship – for us and for the world."Obama is due back in Washington on Saturday night, after a six-day trip also taking in Ireland, a G8 meeting in Deauville, France, and Poland.Obama said he would travel to Missouri next Sunday to meet with people affected by that he called "heartbreaking" storms. More than 100 people were killed in the Missouri town of Joplin on Sunday.