Resident across the globe, relatives of Barack Obama are travelling across three continents to see one of their own sworn in as the US' first African-American president.
In Britain, Mr Obama's honorary stepmother, Kezia Obama, was full of excitement as she set out from her modest home on a Bracknell housing estate headed for the grand ceremony in Washington.
She was Barack Snr's first wife and enjoys an affectionate relationship with the man who on January 20 will become the most powerful in the world. It's not the first time she's been included in a key moment in Mr Obama's life. In 2005 he also invited her to his inauguration as an Illinois senator, a day she remembers as "a simple family affair".
Speaking at Heathrow airport, Kezia said: "This is one of the happiest and proudest moments of my life."
Her sentiments are shared by the matriarch of the clan, Mr Obama's step-grandmother Sarah, who is heading a delegation of eight from Kogelo village in Kenya.
The guest with the greatest comprehension of his remarkable journey may be his half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, who grew up with him in Hawaii and Indonesia.
A Honolulu-based history teacher, she campaigned for her "amazing big brother", and has spoken of her astonishment that the nickname his bossiness earned him in childhood - 'Mr President' - turned out to be so accurate.
Photo: PA
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: PA
