Special gifts exchanged for Obama's visit - 02/04/09

Buckingham Palace was the scene on Wednesday evening for a unique moment in history, when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh met with US president Barack Obama for the first time.

The two heads of state marked the occasion with the exchange of some special gifts.

Mr Obama and his wife Michelle were given a silver-framed, signed photograph of the royal couple, and in return the Obamas presented the Queen with the rather unusual gift of a personalised iPod containing a video of her visit to Virginia and Washington DC in 2007.

The meeting took place in the palace's private apartments just before a glittering reception for the largest gathering of world leaders in London for a generation, ahead of Thursday's G20 summit.

After the two couples had spent a pleasant 20 minutes talking, they thanked one another for the gifts and posed for pictures to record the special occasion, before joining the rest of the guests for the reception.

Presidents, prime ministers and chancellors from across the globe were in attendance, as were several members of the Royal Family, including the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of York and Princess Beatrice.

Special gifts exchanged for Obama's visit - 02/04/09

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