America’s first lady, Melania Trump looked solemn as she attended Pope Francis’ funeral with her husband, Donald Trump.
Melania walked through the Vatican hand in hand with her husband Donald Trump as she joined millions mourning the death of Francis.
In one poignant picture, Melania can be seen deep in thought as the sun beams down on her during the service in St Peter’s Square.
In keeping with the Vatican’s strict dress code for the funeral, Melania wore a black blazer and modest, calf-length pencil skirt.
Guidance from the Catholic Church states women must wear black, closed-toe shoes and Melania chose a pair of simple pumps for the occasion.
She added an elegant black lace veil as well as matching gloves, and wore a simple diamond-studded cross pendant.
The First Lady wore a solemn expression and remained by Mr Trump’s side throughout – even helping him narrowly avoid making a gaffe during the service.
At one point during the three-hour Catholic mass, the congregation were invited to ‘offer each other a sign of peace’ by shaking hands with one another.
A clip from the funeral service showed Trump watching the proceedings around him without participating in the ‘Sign of Peace’ ritual before Melania came to his rescue, it has been revealed.
Forensic lip reader Nicola Hickling told MailOnline that Melania instructed her husband to start shaking hands before Trump grudgingly offers his hand to the French president Emmanuel Macron.
‘You should do it,’ Melania whispered in Trump’s ear before repeating herself.
‘Oh, alright,’ the American president replied.
He then stuck out his hand to greet Estonia’s president Alar Karis and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, before turning his attention to Macron.
Her attendance at the funeral was also expected to be crucial to keeping the peace between Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden.
Alluding to Melania’s role at the funeral, which was also attended by Ukrainian president Volodymy Zelensky, he told reporters in Washington: ‘She’s going to have a great birthday. She’s got a working birthday.’
Mr Biden, 82, was seated two rows behind Mr Trump, who told reporters outside Air Force One that meeting the former president in Rome was ‘not high on my list’.
He also revealed he hadn’t known that Mr Biden and wife Jill Biden would be at the basilica for the funeral.
‘Oh he is? I didn’t know,’ he told reporters on Air Force One.
When asked if he would meet with the former president, Trump replied: ‘It’s not high on my list. It’s really not.’
After the service was concluded, Melania and Trump left St Peter’s Square and departed for the airport as they headed back to the United States following a rushed trip to Rome.