The King receives President Zelenskyy of Ukraine at Buckingham Palace in surprise visit

The King has received President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in audience at Buckingham Palace as the Ukrainian leader makes a surprise visit to the United Kingdom.

His Majesty posed for a photograph with the President before they held a private meeting behind closed doors.

His Excellency arrived in at Stansted Airport in London on Wednesday morning where he was greeted on the tarmac by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The two leaders then travelled by cavalcade to Downing Street where he was greeted with applause.

After lunch, the President visited Westminster Hall where he addressed both houses of Parliaments – a rare honour for visiting world leaders.

President Zelenskyy said it was a “great honour” to be in the UK and thanked Britain for “all your big support from the first days of the full-scale invasion.”

This is the President’s first visit to the UK since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

Before the war, His Excellency visited London and met the then Duke & Duchess of Cambridge at Kensington Palace.

The First Lady of Ukraine has continued to visit London regularly, meeting members of The Royal Family including The King and the Princess of Wales.

In September, the First Lady was Ukraine’s representative at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

This is President Zelenskyy’s second trip overseas since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, having visited the United States just before Christmas, where he also stopped over in Poland.