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While she appears to be facing the centre of the stadium, headlines and tweets were focused on her unimpressed look in comparison to the smiling world leaders next to her.

Comic Rob Delaney called the photo gallery the “funniest 3-panel comic in history.”

The later photo shows the Obamas have switched seats, with the first lady sitting next to the Danish prime minister and the president looking ahead sombrely. The president got up to leave and when he did, Michelle Obama could be seen chatting with Thorning-Schmidt.

A headline at Gawker blared “Obama in the Doghouse After Taking Too-Friendly Selfie with Danish PM” and linked to the photo gallery. Buzzfeed asked “Is this the most important selfie of 2013?”

Thorning-Schmidt, 46, has been prime minister of Denmark for just over two years and is married with two children. On her Facebook page, one commenter suggested she was not being respectful of Mandela by taking the picture.

Telegraphwriter Iain Martin said the photo was uncouth and not worthy of good English manners.

“In all manner of jobs and professions are people who would not behave like Obama and Cameron did today on work time, partly because they just wouldn’t. And partly because they know that they might get fired for tweeting a grinning selfie from inside the recently-departed CEO’s memorial service,” he wrote.