Queen, Charles and Camilla welcome Mexico's President Nieto and his wife to London

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were at Horse Guards Parade to formally welcome the Mexican president

President Enrique Peña Nieto and his wife also escorted by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall

The Queen looked elegant in a wool tweed ensemble by Angela Kelly while Camilla was chic in purple

Queen travelled with President Nieto in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach for the procession down the Mall

Behind her came the Duke of Edinburgh and First Lady Angélica Rivera in the Australian State Coach 

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and a flamboyantly dressed Theresa May were among the welcome party

The UK hosts just two official state visits a year, with travelling presidents staying at Buckingham Palace

Elegant in a delicate wool tweed cream coat and hat by Angela Kelly, the Queen was all smiles as she officially welcomed Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto to London.

The Mexican premier, who is making an official state visit to the UK, was joined by his glamorous First Lady, former soap actress Angélica Rivera, whose pretty white ensemble echoed that of the Queen.

With Her Majesty was the Prince of Wales, who had earlier greeted the Mexican presidential couple at their hotel, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Cornwall who looked lovely in an imperial purple coat and matching hat.

The Mexican couple's UK tour will be one of only two official state visits hosted by the UK this year and, as a result, the ceremonial welcome also included the prime minister, David Cameron, the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, and the home secretary, Theresa May.

True to flamboyant form, Mrs May had dressed for the occasion on a scarlet tweed coat, which she combined with a pair of cosy red wool gloves and an edgy pair of over-the-knee boots.

But despite her best efforts, all eyes were on the glamorous Mexican First Lady. Ms Rivera, who rose to fame when she appeared on telenovela Dulce Desafío in 1989, married President Nieto in 2010 and is stepmother to his three children.

Although now no longer a telenovela actress, the 45-year-old, who has three children of her own, has become a familiar face in Mexican political life and, during the 2012 Mexican election, regularly joined her husband on the campaign trail.

Ms Rivera, who spent much of the ceremonial welcome beside the Queen, was also on cheerful form and beamed as she watched her husband, President Nieto, 48, join the Duke of Edinburgh to inspect the ceremonial honour guard drawn from the 1st Battalion, the Welsh Guards.

Dressed in their grey ceremonial uniforms and wearing traditional bearskin hats, the soldiers, ever professional, did not move a muscle as the diminutive President Nieto processed past them.