This is the moment a man drops to one knee and proposes to his girlfriend in the middle of a tour of the White House.

Michael Sayre, who comes from the village of Mundelein in the US state of Illinois, proposed to his girlfriend Jennifer Jafari, whom he has been dating for around a year, in front of his nine-year-old twins Jocelyn and Wesley.

Michael said he had planned to propose to Jennifer during the festive season, and decided to do it at the White House during the family’s visit to Washington, D.C. last week.

Beforehand, he had contacted staff at the White House who helped him and his twins to devise a plan to propose in the State Dining Room.

Michael said: “Ever since we met, like, everything has just been so easy and straightforward. Just, I found love real fast and I knew she was the person I was looking for.

“I was planning on proposing to Jennifer over the Christmas holiday and I thought ‘well, I’m at the White House. Why not see if I can make it work’.

“Because the theme of that room is family, and they just go through and talk about how families are different. You have the family you’re born into, the family you choose, the family that you make, so I just thought that theme was perfect.”

Meanwhile, his bride-to-be called the proposal a “happy surprise”, adding: “He gets down on a knee, and I was just like ‘oh my gosh, you’re doing this? Okay’.

“He’s just the best guy I’ve ever met. Like, he really is.”

The marriage has the approval of Michael’s twins and Jennifer’s 16-year-old daughter Candace.

Jocelyn, 9, said: “We were actually keeping the secret the whole entire time. So, it was so hard.”

It is unclear when the happy couple plans to tie the knot, but they said they are considering spring or autumn next year.