The Republican gave the go-ahead for non-essential services to be shut down - including the Island State Beach Park - over the 4 July holiday weekend because of a budget impasse.

"I didn't get any sun today," he said, before the aerial photos emerged.

The pictures show Mr Christie and his family on an otherwise empty beach.

Other visitors were turned away by police.

Mr Christie said his family was spending the weekend at the governor's residence there and he was commuting to work by state helicopter.

"That's just the way it goes. Run for governor, and you have can have a residence there," he said at a news conference on Sunday.

"I didn't get any sun today," he added.

After being told of the photographs, his spokesman Brian Murray admitted Mr Christie had "briefly" been on the beach "talking to his wife and family before heading into the office".

"He did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on," Mr Murray added, NJ.com reported.

The partial government shutdown in New Jersey arose because state legislators had not passed a health insurance bill that Mr Christie said had to be passed alongside the state's budget.

The shutdown included the closure of Island State Beach Park, one of New Jersey's few free public beaches, and all other state parks.

Mr Christie had been trying to get the state's largest health insurer, Horizon Cross Blue Shield, to hand over $300m (£230m), some of which Mr Christie wanted to use to battle drug addiction in the state, the New York Times reported.

New Jersey is one of at least nine states that were unable to meet their budget deadlines at the beginning of the month.

The situation is the worst political crisis among Gulf countries in decades.

What are the other demands?

According to the Associated Press news agency, which obtained a copy of the list, Qatar must also:

- Sever all ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been banned in several Arab states

- Refuse to naturalise citizens from the four countries and expel those currently on its territory, in what the countries describe as an effort to keep Qatar from meddling in their internal affairs

- Hand over all individuals who are wanted by the four countries for terrorism

- Stop funding any extremist entities that are designated as terrorist groups by the US

- Provide detailed information about opposition figures whom Qatar has funded, ostensibly in Saudi Arabia and the other nations

- Align itself politically, economically and otherwise with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC)

- Stop funding other news outlets in addition to Al Jazeera, including Arabi21 and Middle East Eye

- Pay an unspecified sum in compensation

An unnamed official from one of the four countries told Reuters news agency that Qatar was also being asked to sever links with so-called Islamic State, al-Qaeda and Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah.

The demands have not been officially unveiled. Their publication has increased the friction between the two sides.

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