Britain’s King Charles arrived at the White House on Tuesday for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, as part of a state visit intended to underscore unity between the two long-time allies, despite deep divisions over the Iran war.

Charles and Queen Camilla were greeted by the president and first lady Melania Trump for a morning visit to the presidential mansion while hundreds of guests stood on the South Lawn with the Washington Monument in the distance.

Cannons boomed, temporarily covering much of the scene with smoke, as the US national anthem played.

“What ‌a beautiful British day this is,” Trump told the gathering under an overcast April sky to the amusement of British guests.

The royal couple are on a four-day state visit to the US designed to underscore the ties forged between Britain and its former colony over the 250 years since American independence, an association known in recent decades as the “special relationship”.

In his remarks, Trump referred to the king as “a very elegant man” and joked that his mother “had a crush on Charles”.