Yesterday, as she dazzled in diamonds and a crimson floor-length dress, Mexican First Lady Angélica Rivera looked regal enough to rival the Queen. But while the 45-year-old might look like the consummate political wife, her telenovela acting career has repeatedly come back to haunt her. Most recently, her embattled husband, President Enrique Peña Nieto, has been derided for indulging in 'soap opera politics' as scandal after scandal has engulfed him - and his First Lady. Scroll down for video . Early days: Ms Rivera's career began at 17 and she was briefly a bikini model before becoming an actress . Of all the contretemps, none has struck quite such a chord with the angry public as the ongoing controversy over Ms Rivera's purchase of a multi-million pound mansion in Mexico City in 2010. First reported by local journalist Carmen Aristegui late last year, the purchase allegedly came about after a murky deal was struck between the First Lady and a government contractor. Ms Rivera, who initially counteracted the claims by insisting that the reason the title deeds were not in her name was because she hadn't finished paying for it, was forced onto the back foot as more revelations came to light. Most concerned the involvement of Ingeniería Inmobiliaria del Centro, a subsidiary of Grupo Higa, a key government contractor. The business, in whose name the property is held, had been granted more than $8bn pesos (£377m) in construction projects during Peña Nieto's tenure as governor of Mexico State. All change: Yesterday saw Ms Rivera, resplendent in a cream ensemble, meet the Queen in London . Honour: She later attended a state dinner at Buckingham Palace with the Queen and Prince Philip . Chic: Ms Rivera won plaudits from critics for her striking choice of outfit, including serious jewels . Interestingly, days before the report emerged, a high speed rail contract handed to Constructora Teya, an affiliate of Grupo Higa, was mysteriously cancelled. With suspicions mounting and Peña Nieto being accused of fostering the sort of corruption he had campaigned to put an end to during the 2012 presidential campaign, a chastened Rivera appeared on national television to announce she intended to sell the house and had 'nothing to hide'. 'I have taken the decision to sell my interest in the purchase contract of the house,' she announced. 'I have nothing to hide. 'I don’t want this to continue to be a pretext to offend and defame my family. Today, I am here to defend my integrity, that of my children and of my husband.' Whatever the truth of the matter, there is no doubt that the scandal, coming hot on the heels of the disappearance of 43 student teachers, was a disaster for the Peña Nieto regime. Considered handsome but dim by most voters during the 2012 presidential campaign, tough economic reforms sent his popularity ratings tumbling, while the furore over the students could prove terminal. Peña Nieto, who had come to power pledging to end the bloody rule of the drug cartels, mishandled the situation, say critics, when in September last year, 43 students were kidnapped in Iguala. While the precise details of what happened remain unclear, what is known is that the men were handed over to the Guerreros Unidos crime syndicate and, according to the Mexican government, murdered and their bodies burned. Expenses: The latest scandal is about a 2010 house purchase, while Ms Rivera was still a soap actress . Soap star: Ms Rivera was once a familiar face on Mexican TV thanks to her soap acting career . Performer: Ms Rivera in Destilando amor (left) and dressed up for the red carpet at a press event (right) The crime immediately sparked nationwide protests which intensified when Iguala's mayor, José Luis Abarca Velázquez, and his wife María de los Ángeles Pineda Villa, were accused of masterminding the massacre. Worse still, a number of police officers were also implicated - putting paid, in the process, to Peña Nieto's claims that his anti-cartel war was being won. And the controversy is still not over - even as the embattled Peña Nieto and Ms Rivera flew into London on Monday, critics were questioning whether the visit should go ahead. David Cameron, who will meet Peña Nieto at Downing Street today, has also said that he plans to raise the issue of human rights abuses with the Mexican President. Such controversy is all a far cry from the early days of Ms Rivera's career when, as a fresh-faced 17-year-old in Mexico City, she entered a newspaper modelling competition and won. Risque: Her sometimes racy soap career has made Ms Rivera one of Mexico's most colourful public figures . Clinch: Since becoming First Lady, she has toned down her look and given up her telenovela career . Romance: The couple were pictured in 2008 at a football match. Ms Rivera was still married at the time . That early success launched a career that would go on to include a brief spell as a swimwear model followed by a move into acting, starting in 1989 when she won a small part in telenovela Dulce Desafío. A long - and apparently lucrative - career, most of it spent at Mexico's largest broadcaster Televisa, was born, with Ms Rivera going on to star in succession of low-budget soaps, among them Alcanzar una estrella II and, most recently, Destilando amor. But her biggest coup came in 2008 when she was hired by Peña Nieto to help publicise his work as state governor. Ms Rivera, then still married to her ex-husband, TV producer José Alberto Castro, with whom she has three daughters, was smitten by the charismatic Peña Nieto. The pair swiftly became an item and in 2010, she married the widowed Peña Nieto in a ceremony attended by her daughters and his three children, Paulina, Alejandro and Nicole. Even then, however, the marriage wasn't without controversy, with critics pointing to rumours of affairs during his first marriage to Mónica Pretelini. Lucky break: Ms Rivera in bridal white at her wedding to President Peña Nieto in 2010 . Support: During the 2012 presidential election, Ms Rivera was a constant presence at Peña Nieto's side . First Lady: Since Peña Nieto took office, Ms Rivera has embraced a more conservative style of dressing . Following Peña Nieto's election in 2012, the Washington Post noted of his marriage to Ms Pretelli, who died in 2007, that: 'Women love him and he had extramarital affairs.' Presumably, those 'extramarital affairs' are now a thing of the past, with Ms Rivera now in charge of an increasingly public portfolio, not least her installation as president of DIF (National System for Integral Family Development) in 2013. She is also a constant presence at the president's side, always immaculately, if conservatively, dressed - a far cry from the racy outfits she favoured during her soap star days. The acting career is also gone, with Ms Rivera declaring her intention to focus on 'this great responsibility by his side' shortly after her husband was elected. But with scandal after scandal hitting the Peña Nieto regime, it seems the days of starring in soap operas aren't quite over yet. All smiles: But while Ms Rivera smiled and chatted to Prince Philip, she is mired in scandal at home . Controversial: Ms Rivera, seen with Charles and Camilla yesterday, has been accused of corruption .
Ms Rivera dazzled in diamonds at Buckingham Palace last night . But the 45-year-old former soap actress is embroiled in controversy . Much is focused on allegations of dodgy house purchase deal . Comes shortly after Mexican regime was criticised over student kidnap . The kidnap and murder of 43 students by a cartel sparked global protests .