When you can't make one of Ed Sheeran's six New Zealand shows, what do you do?

Invite him around for "a cuppa and some scones."

That's what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did - although she didn't expect him to accept the offer.

Ardern posted a photo with the pop star on Facebook and Instagram, in which she says it was a "real treat" to meet him.

This isn't the first interaction the two have had, with the English singer having previously made a plea for New Zealand citizenship in a video for ZM.

The PM replied to his request with a few questions.

"The first: do you like pineapple lumps? Do you even know what they are?"

She then asked: "Are you willing to wear jandals in semi-inappropriate situations? And also, do you know what jandals are?"

The Prime Minister's partner, father-to-be Clarke Gayford, also posted a photo with the pop star on Twitter, in which the two can be seen looking through a book about pregnancy.

Ardern and Gayford's first child is expected in June.

It takes a village (and a pop star) to raise a child. pic.twitter.com/75sF5IM1cY

— Clarke Gayford (@NZClarke) March 25, 2018

Sheeran plays the second of his three sold-out Auckland shows tonight at Mt Smart Stadium, before winging his way to Dunedin later in the week.