Michelle Obama wins over London – and gets a royal hug at the Palace

Michelle Obama didn't just wow Londoners on her first full day in London - she appeared to win over The Queen as well. At Wednesday evening's reception for G20 leaders at Buckingham Palace, the Queen was heard to ask the First Lady: "Now we've met, will you please keep in touch?" And when Michelle broke with protocol and put her arm around the monarch there was no frisson of lese-majeste, partly because the Queen, in the course of their conversation, had already placed her hand on the First Lady's back.

It was generally agreed by seasoned Palace watchers that this was about as close to a Royal hug as you can get.

When Barack Obama and his wife were first ushered in to the Royal presence for a brief chat before other world leaders were allowed into the Palace, the Americans towered over the Queen and Prince Philip. This did not stop the prince putting his foot in it when his wife asked Obama how his day had gone.

Obama: "I had breakfast with the Prime Minister, meetings with the Chinese, the Russians, David Cameron..."

Philip: "Can you tell the difference between them?"

As for the 'hand on the monarch' moment, it recalled the incident in 1992 when the Australian prime minister Paul Keating put his hand on the Queen's back during a Royal visit to Australia. Keating was branded the 'Lizard of Oz' as a result. But as Time.com helpfully reassured Americans last night, the First Lady is not a subject of the Queen of England.

Anyway, Michelle O could do nothing wrong yesterday: from her choice of small talk, touring a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, to her choice of outfits. By the end of the day, she had sported four different outfits, from a bright yellow dress designed by Jason Wu (the young New Yorker who designed her inaugural ball gown), to a sparkly cardigan and skirt from US high street store J Crew (the equivalent of wearing an outfit from M&S).

Back home, the fashion press were impressed. Marc Karimzadeh, of Women's Wear Daily, said of her yellow dress: "I think it was an optimistic colour... the hopeful, optimistic colour really signifies what a lot of people hope this trip will be."

The big question was whether the First Lady would bare those famous arms. For the visit to Buckingham Palace, she chose to cover up in a black jacket and white top. But by the time she attended last night's Jamie Oliver-cooked dinner in Downing Street, where she sat between J K Rowling and Dame Kelly Holmes, she had indeed changed to a sleeveless ivory top.