The United States’ new ambassador to Denmark, Ken Howery, after his audience with the King at Christiansborg Palace on Wednesday.

Howery spoke to Danish media outside Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen after being presented to King Frederik and officially taking the post of US Ambassador.

He said his priorities included “strengthening our defence and security cooperation, trade and investment ties, and working together with the Kingdom [of Denmark, ed.] to address our shared concerns about security in the Arctic, especially in Greenland.”

When the ambassador was asked by a Danish journalist for his “message” to both the king and Danish people in relation to Greenland, an aide interrupted and said there was not time to answer the question.

Not everyone meets the king on their first day at work, but dressed in his finest suit, 50-year-old Ken Howery had an audience with King Frederik at Christiansborg Palace today.

Ken Howery is an American businessman and billionaire. In the 2000s, he co-founded the payment service PayPal together with, among others, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, he served as ambassador to Sweden.

Still, Ken Howery appeared somewhat nervous on his first day on the job, when—after the royal courtesy visit—he met the press in front of the palace.

A press officer came to the ambassador’s rescue when the first question, unsurprisingly, concerned the U.S. plans for Greenland.

“He doesn’t have time for questions right now,” the press officer said before the ambassador left Prins Jørgens Gård.

A few hours later, both DR and TV 2 managed to interview Ken Howery in turn and had the opportunity to ask about U.S. plans for Greenland.

Journalist asked Is it your task to make sure the U.S. gets Greenland?

“I’ll repeat what the President has said—that the U.S. respects the right of the people of Greenland to decide their own future. He has also said that he remains focused on U.S. security, especially in light of the increasingly aggressive behavior from both Russia and China in the region,” Ken Howery replied.VIDEO: The ambassador also spoke about his first meeting with King Frederik.