members of the Royal family, as these awkward images show.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall didn't know which way to turn when they leaned in to greet their eminent guests, the King of Queen and Spain, who are embarking on a three-day state visit to the UK.
The awkward encounter between Charles and Camilla, and their guests King Felipe and Queen Letizia, came ahead of today's grand Ceremonial Welcome.
The couple were formally greeted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Horse Guards Parade this afternoon in what is expected to be 96-year-old Philip's last state visit before he retires from public duties in the autumn.
The Captain of the Guard of Honour Major Charlie Gair, presented his Guard of Honour to Felipe in fluent Spanish while Major General Ben Bathurst, Major General Commanding the Household Division, commanded the parade. A total of more than 1,000 troops are expected to take part in the state visit.
Letizia, 44, then travelled to Buckingham Palace in style in the State Landau - the carriage which was built for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 - alongside Prince Philip, while her husband travelled with the Queen.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's trip had been postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016, and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with June's snap general election.
The King will also attend a UK-Spain Business Forum at Mansion House with the Duke of York, the couple will visit Westminster Abbey accompanied by Prince Harry, and they will both meet Theresa May at No. 10 Downing Street.
Felipe, 49, is expected to raise the thorny issue of Gibraltar during his stay this week. He will deliver an address at Westminster from the Royal Gallery to parliamentarians on Wednesday, and meet Mrs May for talks at Downing Street on Thursday.
Last September, he used his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York to call for a negotiated handover of what Gibraltarians affectionately call 'the Rock'.
'I invite the UK, on this first occasion at the UN after Brexit, to end the the colonial anachronism of Gibraltar with an agreed solution between both countries to restore the territorial integrity of Spain,' he declared.
The future of Gibraltar, a rocky British enclave on Spain's southern tip, is set to be a major point of contention in the British EU exit talks with the EU offering Spain a right of veto over the relationship between Gibraltar and the EU.
It comes after the European Union's top court ruled last month that Gibraltar and the United Kingdom can be treated as a single EU member for certain aspects of EU law, a finding that could complicate the territory's hopes of winning a special status after Brexit.
On Tuesday afternoon, the royal couple were given an official farewell with honours at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport as they set off for London, where they were later greeted on behalf of The Queen by The Viscount Brookeborough, Lord-in-Waiting.
Former anchorwoman Letizia - mother to 11-year-old Leonor, Princess of Asturias and 10-year-old Infanta SofÃa of Spain - displayed her sartorial prowess in a chic white Hugo Boss ensemble, paired with oversized shades and towering snakeskin heels from Spanish label Magrit.
Security will be tight for today's ceremonial welcome and carriage procession, in what will be the first state visit to take place since the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London.
The Mall was decked out in Spanish flags this week and on Wednesday morning, gun salutes were fired from Green Park and the Tower of London to welcome the King and Queen of Spain.
The Royal Mews staff were decked out in their Full State Livery – a uniform that has changed little in over 200 years - ahead of the Ceremonial Welcome, while horses were hitched to their respective carriages, ready to be inspected by The Master of The Horse before departing.
In the afternoon the Spanish couple, who wed in Madrid 2004, will meet the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall for tea at nearby Clarence House.
Afterwards, The King and Queen will visit the Palace of Westminster, where they will be welcomed by the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker. The King will deliver an Address in the Royal Gallery to Parliamentarians and other guests, followed by a reception with Members and invited guests ahead of tonight's State Banquet.
On Thursday, Prince Harry will accompany the royal visitors to Westminster Abbey. Felipe will lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and Harry will join them on a short tour of the Abbey, including the Tomb of Eleanor 'Leonor' of Castile - the 13th century Spanish princess who married Edward I.
William and Harry have a shared history with the King. As youngsters, they holidayed with Felipe, his father King Juan Carlos and their family in Majorca several times throughout the 1980s. Felipe and Letizia were also guests at the Duke and Duchess's wedding in 2011.
The Cambridges are already viewed as the Royal family's unofficial Brexit ambassadors, and are setting off on another diplomacy tour next week - heading to Germany and Poland for five days with their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte in tow.
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