Boris and Carrie Johnson were all smiles today as they formally greeted G7 leaders on the golden sands of Carbis Bay.
The PM and his new wife, wearing a vivid fuchsia dress, welcomed the guests to the official start of the summit one by one on a beachfront board walk.
Mr Johnson, who notoriously boasted he was still shaking hands with everyone in the early stages of the pandemic, appeared to remind himself not to get too close, saying 'Elbows!'
Joe Biden was accompanied by wife Jill, while Angela Merkel was with her husband, but Justin Trudeau and Mario Draghi of Italy arrived alone. A grinning Emmanuel Macron strolled up alongside Brigitte, with Mr Johnson warmly referring to him as 'Emmanuel' despite the French president stoking the Northern Ireland row by vowing to veto an overhaul of the protocol.
Mr Biden made a quip urging people to go swimming, saying 'everyone in the water'- with Mr Johnson joking in response that he had already been in.
Jill Biden laughed: 'I feel like we are at a wedding'. Later Mr Johnson joked that it was like 'walking down the aisle.'
The leaders then posed for the traditional family photograph - again socially distanced - before heading inside for the first summit session.
But there was time for one more move from Mr Macron. As Mr Johnson led the way at the urging of Mrs Merkel, the French President took the opportunity to throw his arm around Mr Biden's shoulders and begin an animated discussion.
A grinning Emmanuel Macron strolled up alongside Brigitte (both right), with Boris Johnson (left with Carrie) warmly referring to him as 'Emmanuel' despite the French president stoking the Northern Ireland row by vowing to veto an overhaul of the protocol
The PM and his new wife, wearing a vivid fuchsia dress, welcomed the guests to the official start of the summit one by one on a beachfront board walk
Justin Trudeau arrived alone to be greeted by the PM and Carrie on the beach at Carbis Bay
Mr Biden quipped that everyone should go for a swim in the sea - with Mr Johnson joking in response that he had already been in
When they were seated around a table, Mr Johnson urged the leaders to 'build back' in a more 'feminine' way.
'It is genuinely wonderful to see everybody in person. I can't tell you what a difference it makes,' he said.
'We have all been going through the most wretched pandemic our countries have faced for our lifetimes, maybe longer, much longer.
'And I actually think this is a meeting that genuinely needs to happen because we need to make sure that we learn the lessons from the pandemic, we need to make sure that we don't repeat some of the errors that we doubtless made in the course of the last 18 months or so and we need to make sure that we now allow our economies to recover.
'I think that they have the potential to bounce back very strongly and there is all sorts of reasons for being optimistic.
'But it is vital that we don't repeat the mistake of the last great crisis, the last great economic recession in 2008, when the recovery was not uniform across all parts of society and I think what has gone wrong with this pandemic, or what risks being a lasting scar, is that I think the inequalities may be entrenched.
'We need to make sure that as we recover we level up across our societies and we build back better.'
Tories have voiced fury at the obstructive stance from Mr Macron and demanded 'pragmatism' amid fears the trade rules are fuelling sectarian tensions in the province.
Ramping up the so-called 'sausage war', the French president said it was 'not serious' to want to change the arrangements so quickly.
'I think it's not serious to want to review in June what we finalised after years of debate and work in December,' he said, adding that he will discuss the situation with Mr Johnson during a bilateral meeting at the G7 summit today.
But Mr Johnson sounded defiance today, boosted by Joe Biden seemingly backing off a confrontation in their talks, insisting the trade rules are 'excessively burdensome'.
And Tory MP David Jones told MailOnline: 'It is posturing. He's actually been posturing for quite a long time.
'He's in a very precarious position domestically and quite clearly he is attempting to show toughness as a way of boosting his chances in the approach to the presidential election.
'Given that the UK and the US both agree that pragmatism is necessary, I would imagine that the EU will pay attention and, if so, he is going to be out of step with the rest of the bloc.'
EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen, council president Charles Michel and French president Emmanuel Marcon seemed pleased to see each other today
Italian PM Mario Draghi joined the fun as the summit got under way this afternoon
Tories voiced fury at the obstructive stance from Emmanuel Macron (pictured arriving at the G7 summit with wife Brigitte today)
Boris Johnson (left with Joe Biden yesterday) has branded the Northern Ireland protocol 'excessively burdensome'
Mr Biden and Mr Johnson insisted they were in 'complete harmony' last night as they tried to sweep away explosive claims of an eve-of-summit diplomatic row. Pictured, blimps of the PM and president at Carbis Bay today
The row over the Northern Ireland Protocol have been threatening to overshadow the G7 gathering at Carbis Bay.
Mr Biden and Mr Johnson insisted they were in 'complete harmony' last night as they tried to sweep away explosive claims of an eve-of-summit diplomatic row.
After their first face-to-face talks, the Prime Minister said he and President Biden shared 'common ground' over maintaining Ulster peace and the Good Friday Agreement.
Brussels is threatening to retaliate if Britain takes unilateral action to continue the flow of British-produced chilled meats to Northern Ireland when a grace period ends this month.
G7 leaders including Angela Merkel arrived for the summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall today
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his wife Mariko were among the arrivals today
Italian PM Mario Draghi waved to waiting media as he arrived at the summit in Cornwall today
There have been colourful climate protests going on near the gathering of world leaders
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are greeted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson, ahead of the G-7 summit, Thursday, June 10
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