King welcomes astronaut Chris Hadfield to Buckingham Palace

The pair met on Thursday afternoon.

King Charles III receives astronaut Chris Hadfield from Canada (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

The King has held an audience with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield at Buckingham Palace.

Charles welcomed Colonel Hadfield – former commander of the International Space Station – to the royal residence on Thursday afternoon.

The pair met in a room filled with family photographs, which adorned the covered grand piano and other antique furniture.

The portraits included an official group photo from the 1999 wedding of the King’s brother and sister-in-law, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and a wedding portrait of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent in 1978.

Colonel Hadfield, who logged nearly 4,000 hours in space, became a YouTube sensation with his performance of David Bowie’s Space Oddity from the ISS.