Michelle Obama and Donald Trump solemnly shake hands at funeral of George HW bush | London Evening Standard

Michelle Obama and Donald Trump solemnly shake hands at funeral of George HW bush

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This is the moment Michelle Obama and President Trump solemnly shook hands at the funeral of former president George HW Bush.

As Mr Trump arrived to sit on the front row at Washington National Cathedral, he shook hands with Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

In the video, he does not shake hands with Bill or Hillary Clinton. It is the first time Trump has been present at an event with Mrs Clinton since the election.

Ms Obama and Mr Trump have had a frosty relationship.

In her new memoir Becoming, she wrote: "I will always wonder about what led so many, women in particular, to reject an exceptionally qualified female candidate and instead choose a misogynist as their president

The state funeral for George HW Bush is being held at Washington Cathedral.

The ceremony caps three days of remembrance by dignitaries and American citizens as they honour the Republican president who died on Friday at 94.

A joint service honour guard carries the casket of former US President (Getty)Pool

Prince Charles is in attendance, representing the Queen.

On Tuesday, soldiers and citizens wound through the Capitol Rotunda to view Mr Bush’s coffin and honour a president whose legacy included Second World War military service and a landmark law affirming the rights of the disabled.

His family also made a surprise visit to the rotunda. George W and Laura Bush entered first and the former president put his hand on the flag draped casket holding the remains of his father.

Their twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, followed, while Jeb Bush and his wife joined along with about a dozen other members of the Bush family.

Former president George W. Bush greets (from L-R) US president Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, and former president Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter during the funeral service for his father George H.W.BushAFP/Getty Images

After the national funeral service at the cathedral, Mr Bush's remains will be returned to Houston to lie in repose at St Martin's Episcopal Church before burial on Thursday at his family plot on the presidential library grounds at Texas A&M University in College Station.

His final resting place will be alongside Barbara Bush, his wife of 73 years who died in April, and Robin Bush, the daughter they lost to leukaemia in 1953 at the age of three.

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush is carried by a military honor guard into a State Funeral at the National CathedralAP

Mr Trump ordered the federal government closed on Wednesday for a national day of mourning. Flags on public buildings are flying at half-staff for 30 days.

Mr Bush's service dog Sully was taken to the coffin viewing - his main service in the months since Mrs Bush's death in April being to rest his head on her husband's lap.

The flag-draped casket of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush is carried by military pallbearersREUTERS

Mr Trump ordered the federal government to be closed on Wednesday for a national day of mourning, while flags on public buildings are flying at half-staff for 30 days.

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Additional reporting by AP.