'Uninvited' breakfast with Obamas

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A retired couple ate breakfast with the Obamas at the White House after arriving on the wrong day for a tour.

Harvey and Paula Darden were ushered in to a war veterans' event even though they were not on the guest list.

Mr Darden said their surprise meeting with the president and his wife, Michelle, was "quite a treat".

The incident happened two weeks before a Virginia couple gatecrashed a state dinner, although the details have only just emerged.

The Dardens' adventure began when they turned up a day early by mistake for a regular White House tour.

'Nice gesture'

Retired pharmacist Mr Darden, 67, said they believed they were simply starting the tour as expected, until they were ushered into the East Room and told they would be meeting the president.

"The further we got into the White House, the more surprised we were," Mr Darden told the Associated Press news agency.

"My wife looked at me, and I looked at her, and I said 'You know, I don't know if we're in the right place'," Mr Darden said.

However, White House officials deny there was any security breach - unlike the case of Virginia socialites Michaele and Tareq Salahi, who managed to have their pictures taken with the Obamas after getting into a state dinner without an invitation.

But White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said the Dardens had been vetted and, as a result, were allowed to attend the breakfast as a "nice gesture" because no White House tours were scheduled for that day.

The couple say their only regret is that they have not received a copy of the photograph showing them meeting the president and his wife.