The Queen has held an audience with the US ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson.
The billionaire owner of the New York Jets American football team, who is US President Donald Trump’s man in London, met with the monarch at Buckingham Palace to present his credentials.
No date has yet been confirmed for Mr Trump’s controversial state visit to Britain, which is said to have been delayed to avoid a wave of protests.
No date has been set for Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK (Andrew Harnik/AP)
Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson IV, who took up his post two months ago, has known Mr Trump for years.
He previously remarked of the American leader in his first speech as ambassador in September: “When you get to know him, you’ll like him.”
A long-time Republican Party fundraiser, he has no government experience.
Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical giant, was founded by his great-great-grandfather.
Buckingham Palace said Mr Johnson presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Credence as Ambassador from the United States of America to the Court of St James’s.
The 70-year-old was accompanied by his wife Suzanne, a former actress who is two decades his junior.