The Trump family has gathered in New York City to bid farewell to Ivana Trump, Donald’s first wife and the mother of his three oldest children who died last week at the age of 73.
The family met at the Frank E. Campbell funeral home, where Ivana’s remains were prepared, before making their way to St. Vincent Ferrer Church on Lexington Avenue. After the service, the family is expected to travel to New Jersey afterwards for a private reception at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.
Former President Donald Trump looked sunken with grief as he got into the car waiting for him outside Trump Tower.
Among the first to arrive at the funeral home was Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle, who wore a black velvet cocktail dress and stilettos.
They were closely followed by Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and their children. Ivanka was elegant in a black cocktail dress and a string of pearls.
A glamorous woman with a penchant for younger men, skiing and dancing, Ivana’s funeral on Wednesday attracted socialites from New York City, Palm Beach and Europe.
The well-heeled crowd gathered outside St Vincent Ferrer Church on Lexington Avenue in sweltering heat, clutching their funeral invitations to present to police officers and Secret Service agents at the doors.
The church is a stone’s throw from the townhouse on 64th Street where Ivana lived for 26 years and where she was discovered at the bottom of the stairs last week.
Donald Trump enters a waiting car outside Trump Tower on Wednesday for the funeral of his first wife, Ivana. The grief-stricken former President paid tribute to her last night as ‘beautiful inside and out’
Trump, saddled with grief, told friends last night he was ‘very sad’ about his first wife’s death
Ivanka Trump arrives at the Frank. Campbell Funeral Home with her eight-year-old son Joseph and husband Jared Kushner
Ivanka wore an elegant string of pearls and a black cocktail dress for her mother’s funeral. She paid tribute to her yesterday as ‘one of a kind’ and a mother who was ‘always there’ for her children
Ivanka accompanied eight-year-old Joseph into the funeral home with her husband keeping a close eye behind them
Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle outside the Frank E. Campbell funeral home on Wednesday. Don Jr. greeted fashion designer Dennis Basso warmly
Don Jr. and Kimberly were the first members of the family to arrive at the funeral home on Wednesday afternoon
Eric Trump with his four-year-old son, also called Eric, at the funeral home on Wednesday morning
NYPD barricades wreathed round the block between Lexington Avenue and East 65th and 66th on Wednesday while trucks from Greenscape Designs unloaded by the side entrance.
Ivana Trump was last seen on June 22, walking around the Upper East Side with the help of an assistant
Officers and secret service agents consulted with each other and paced the sidewalk as members of the church choir began to arrive shortly after 11am.
The first came bearing ID and printed-out forms that were carefully studied by a waiting agent before the barricades were opened just enough to let the two middle aged women in.
Two large police trucks were parked directly opposite the church’s imposing front doors to house the photographers who trained their lenses on the church entrance.
Bit by bit, small groups of people gathered intrigued by the measures designed to keep at bay all but those who had received an invitation, featuring an image of Ivana in her heyday on the slopes. Still people stood and stared, sweating in the heat of the Manhattan sun.
Earlier in the day, Ivanka and Jared were spotted in Central Park, taking a break from their morning jog to admire Bethesda Fountain.
Former President Donald Trump flew in to New York from Florida with former First Lady Melania earlier this week after announcing Ivana’s death with a heartfelt statement on behalf of the family.
In another touching tribute to his former wife last night, he told long-term friend Cindy Adams, a columnist for The New York Post: ‘She was outstanding. Beautiful inside and out. We began all of it, our lives together, with such a great relationship.’
The funeral service was billed as a ‘Celebration of Life’ to honor Ivana, a Czechoslovakian skier turned model who moved to America at the dawn of the 70s and became one of New York’s most iconic first wives.
All three of Ivana’s children were expected to speak at the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family asked for donations to Big and Small Dog Ranch Rescue.
Don Jr’s fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, was spotted in New York City on Tuesday morning ahead of the planned service. She was seen visiting Ivana’s townhouse on 64th Street on Tuesday night.
Ivana and Donald were married from 1977 until 1992, during which time she says she raised their children almost single-handedly.
Eric Trump’s wife Lara wore a fitted black dress and black patent heels for the solemn occasion
Lara Trump outside Trump Tower on Wednesday before making her way to the funeral home in Manhattan
Lara was in high spirits outside Trump Tower before she and the rest of the family made their way to the funeral home
Lara Trump arrives at the funeral home with her daughter Carolina and husband Eric. She hugged a mourner before making her way inside
Eric Trump fixes his tie outside the funeral home
Glamorous mourners flocked to St. Vincent Ferrer Church on Lexington Avenue to pay their respects to Ivana
Stylish women braved the 100F heat in dresses, blouses and hats, clutching water bottles in their hands as they made their way inside
Security at the funeral was so tight that even the nuns from St. Vincent Ferrer Church were searched before they were allowed inside
The nun was asked to present her ID before making her way into the invitation-only event on Wednesday
The Frank E. Campbell funeral home on East 81st Street, where Ivana’s remains were prepared for Wednesday’s service
NYPD officers were at the scene along with swarms of Secret Service agents in anticipation of the arrival of Donald Trump and his children
A heart-shaped wreath of red roses for Ivana outside St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church in New York City on Wednesday
Flowers being brought into the Frank E. Campbell funeral home on Wednesday before Ivana’s remains departed for the church
Secret Service agent surrounded St Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church on Lexington Avenue on Wednesday ahead of the funeral
Funeral preparations at St. Vincent Ferrer on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Wednesday ahead of the funeral of Ivana Trump
Secret Service agents peppered the sidewalk on Wednesday before the first mourners arrived
The enormous church sits on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 65th Street, a stone’s throw from Ivanka’s townhouse where she was found dead last week
NYPD officers making arrangements outside the funeral home where Ivana Trump remains were held before the funeral
He went on the marry Marla Maples and then Melania in 2005.
The former President is said to be ‘very upset’ about the death of his first wife, with whom he remained close, according to family friends cited by The New York Post.
Ivana married four times in her life; Donald was her second husband. Her first was Austrian skier Alfred Winklmayr, whom she married for a ticket out of her native Czechoslovakia in 1971.
Through Alfred, Ivana obtained an Austrian passport which she then used to emigrate to Canada with. She dissolved the marriage shortly afterwards.
She met Donald Trump in 1976 while in New York City on a work trip.
They married the following year, and she gave birth to their first child, Don. Jr., the same year.
Ivanka was born next in 1981 and then Eric in 1984. Trump and Ivana divorced in 1992 after he met and fell in love with Marla Maples, his second wife and the mother of his fourth child, Tiffany.
Ivana then married Italian businessman Riccardo Mazzucchelli but it was short-lived; they divorced in 1997 after two years together. Mazzucchelli died in 2017.
Her fourth husband, known as her ‘boy toy’, was Rossano Rubicondi. At 23 years her junior, their 2008 marriage attracted tabloid gasps.
The pair remained close even after their divorce the following year, in 2009. Rossano died aged 48 in October last year from complications caused by melanoma.
Donald and Ivana’s children have all publicly expressed their heartbreak over the loss of their mother.
Ivana first met real estate tycoon Donald Trump in 1976 when she was working as a model, and the two were married just over a year later on April 7, 1977
Following their divorce in the mid-1990s, Ivana went on to marry Italian entrepreneur Riccardo Mazzucchelli in November 1995 and actor Rossano Rubicondi in 2008
Ivana Trump’s wedding to Rossano Rubicondi took place at Donald Trump’s beach club in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida in April 2008 with her daughter, Ivanka, serving as a maid of honor
They divorced less than one year later, but their on-again, off-again relationship continued until 2019 when she ultimately called it quits. But friends of the two said they had grown close prior to his death in October. They are pictured as guest dancers on the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars in May 2018
Eric, 38, shared a heartfelt tribute with Dailymail.com – penned by himself, Ivanka and Don Jr – hours after Ivana’s passing, which remembered her as an ‘incredible woman’ who was ‘a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend’.
The joint statement recalled the businesswoman’s tough upbringing behind the Iron Curtain and incredible journey to the US, having fled communism in Czechoslovakia before moving to Canada and then New York City.
They said she ‘taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination’ and said she will be ‘dearly missed’.
He has also been traveling to his mother’s home regularly since her death on Thursday and was spotted leaving the property on Monday with a black plastic bag.
It is unclear if the family has removed any sentimental items belonging to Ivana from the property since her death, or what will become of the property now.
Ivanka, 40, also paid tribute to their mother, calling her ‘bold’ and saying she was always prepared to do what was necessary.
In comments to The New York Post this week, she said: ‘Wicked. Vim. Vigor. She brought joy and self-confidence. Understand it stemmed from her birth and upbringing. She came from a communist country.
‘From denial. Being nothing. Having nothing. The Czech Republic background was her rationale for loving the fine things. For what was rich. What spelled glamour. Seeing the best is what defined who she was.
‘Yes, she was bold. But no matter what, where or who she was, she was always there for us. Always The Person to go to. If need be she’d act as the housekeeper. And did. Be the one to wash the dishes — and did.’
Ivana Trump may not have made it to the White House – but she relished her role as a loving mother to her three kids and proudly described how she raised them without their father’s help
Ivana Trump with her then-husband Donald and their three kids, left, and right with Donald and Ivanka as a baby
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