Michelle Obama is not impressed: Grim-faced First Lady meets the Saudi king as members of his entourage refuse to shake her hand.

Michelle Obama did not look happy on Tuesday when she had to cut short her visit to India to accompany her husband on a trip to a country where women aren't even allowed to drive cars.

The First Lady bowed and beamed as she boarded Air Force One in New Dehli on Tuesday, but by the time she landed in Saudi Arabia a few hours later, she had traded her floral dress for a more conservative long-sleeved jacket and slacks - as well as a new scorned expression.

In pictures at the airport and Egra Palace, Mrs Obama pursed her lips and glared as she stood her husband who cancelled their trip to the Taj Mahal in order to pay respects to the Saudi royal family on the death of King Abdullah

While the oil-rich Saudis are America's biggest Arab ally, the relationship has come under increased scrutiny over the conservative Muslim country's questionable human rights record - including their treatment of women.

In addition to not being able to drive, Saudi women must always have a male chaperone when going out in public, they can't try on clothes while shopping or open a bank account without their husband's permission.

And despite most Saudi women being educated, they make up just a sliver of the work force. 

However, some Saudis jumped to defend Mrs Obama online, saying it was only a brief visit and that the First Lady should not be too highly criticized as the wife of a strong ally.

One woman appealed to her fellow Saudis on Twitter not to 'make Obama angry at us'. 

Following the death of Abdullah, President Obama and other Western leaders praised the former king for his 'reform efforts'.

While he did institute a royal decree that will finally give women the right to vote in local elections this year, Abdullah was criticized by his own daughters for being anti-feminist. 

Last year,  Abdullah's daughter Princess Jawaher gave an interview to Channel 4 News saying she and her female relatives had been practically held 'hostage' in the palace of Jeddah for a decade due to the strict policies towards women in the country. 

'No one is allowed in or out. If he does that to his own children, how do you think the rest of the country is?' Princess Jawaher said. See More Photos Below: