President Donald Trump paid his final tribute to deceased former President George H.W. Bush at the beginning of the White House Hanukkah reception Thursday afternoon.

“This week, America is grieving the loss of President George H.W. Bush, who is being laid to rest today at his library in Texas. Yesterday, Melania and I were honored to attend the state funeral at the National Cathedral and pay our respects to the entire Bush family,” Trump said.

The president continued to praise Bush’s state funeral Wednesday, saying that it was “a beautiful tribute to President Bush’s noble life and public service,” adding, “We will always remember this great statesman and American patriot.” (RELATED: Here’s A Look Back At George H.W. Bush’s Life In Pictures)

Trump attended the state funeral Wednesday along with all former living presidents, including George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. His former 2016 presidential rival Hillary Clinton was also in attendance as former first lady.

H.W.’s funeral dominated the business of the day throughout political Washington, D.C., since his passage late Friday evening. Trump has largely canceled his public appearances in the midst of the passing, and he repeatedly tweeted his praise for the former president.

H.W.’s body was flown back to Houston, Texas, aboard the presidential aircraft known as Air Force One Wednesday. The Bush family held another memorial service for him Thursday morning before his body was loaded aboard a presidential train for College Station, Texas.

Bush will be buried alongside his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, at his presidential library.</s>First of expected 1,200 mourners arrive for George H.W. Bush's Houston funeral

Six days of public mourning for former President George H.W. Bush will come to a close in his adopted home state on Thursday, as an estimated 1,200 mourners will attend his Houston funeral before a private burial service at his presidential library in College Station.

A family-centered funeral at St. Martin's Episcopal Church is scheduled to begin at about 10 a.m., with eulogies expected from grandson and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, as well as former Secretary of State and close friend James A. Baker III. The first mourners began arriving at about 8 a.m., making their way through the sprawling brick church's archway as an American flag flapped against the gray sky.

HOW TO WATCH: Details on how you can watch the Houston funeral online

Following the service, which is expected to last about 75 minutes, the 41st president's body and his family members are scheduled to be escorted to the Union Pacific Auto Facility in Spring for transport by train to College Station. A ceremony featuring about 700 to 800 participants, including Texas A&M leaders and Bush Foundation staff members, will be held upon his arrival at about 3:30 p.m.

Full coverage of George H.W. Bush's death and funeral is at our subscription site, HoustonChronicle.com

By 4:15 p.m., family members are expected to travel to the grave site, where Bush's wife Barbara and daughter Robin are buried, for a private ceremony.

Thursday's expected events follow a day of national mourning primarily in Washington, D.C., where former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and son George W. Bush joined President Donald Trump for a state funeral at the National Cathedral. Bush's namesake son, biographer Jon Meacham and two political allies, former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, each delivered eulogies.

Bush's body was flown to Houston after the funeral to lie in repose throughout the night and following morning at St. Martin's. Hundreds of Houstonians lined up outside the church for his arrival, streaming in after the casket's arrival in the early evening.

Roads near St. Martin's, located about a half-mile west of Loop 610 off Woodway Drive, are expected to remain closed until 1 p.m. Thursday.

Bush, 94, died on Friday following months of declining health as he dealt with a form of Parkinson's disease. His wife, Barbara, died in April. Her funeral also was held at St. Martin's.</s>The hilltop cathedral in Washington filled Wednesday with recollections of George H.W. Bush as a modest but mighty president, a man whose characteristic humility was belied one final time with all the pageantry of a state funeral.

“He valued character over pedigree and he was not a cynic. He looked for the good in everybody, and usually he found it,” President George W. Bush told 3,000 political leaders and family members who congregated at the National Cathedral to say goodbye.

“To us,” the younger Bush said, “he was close to perfect.”

As Christian hymns echoed through the cathedral’s limestone arches, sung and played by military orchestras and choirs, there seemed to be more laughter than tears in the pews — a reflection of a long life lived in the company of good friends and family.

His eulogists each captured the successive roles Bush played in his lifetime: World War II flyboy, statesman, friend and father.

“He showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage and acts in love with his heart for the citizens of our country,” George W. Bush said, describing his father as a man who preferred steaks and vodka martinis over broccoli, speed-boated and skydived as an octogenarian, and who lived life at two settings: “full throttle and sleep.”

When the tears did come, it was when Bush was remembered as a family man who doted on the large brood who filled the first several rows of the sanctuary. George W. Bush, who as president was sometimes prone to an occasional cry, appeared to steel himself with deep breaths throughout the service before letting out a sob.

“He was the best father a son or daughter could have,” he said, his eyes welling up and his body quaking. When he concluded, the congregation burst into sustained applause.

He was one of the five living US commanders in chief at the event; Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama all attended along with President Donald Trump. It’s the first time all five men have convened face-to-face since Trump took office.

Bitter disputes between Trump and his predecessors have fractured the traditional presidents’ club. There was little warmth when Trump greeted only his direct predecessor Obama before taking his seat and looking directly ahead.

The younger Bush, seated with his family instead of with his fellow presidents, seemed to break the unease when he handed Michelle Obama a candy — the same gesture she extended to him in September at the funeral of Sen. John McCain.

Though the tributes delivered Wednesday focused squarely on the late president, the traits of the current one — sitting mostly stone-faced in the front row — made for a stark comparison.

“Those that travel the high road of humility in Washington are not bothered by heavy traffic,” said former Sen. Alan Simpson.

“To us, his was the brightest of 1,000 points of light,” George W. Bush said, using the same campaign motto Trump ridiculed several months ago during a speech.

For the last two days, Americans both powerful and ordinary have filed past Bush’s flag-draped casket in the Capitol Rotunda, paying their respects to a man who oversaw the end of the Cold War but who suffered defeat after one term.

To the strains of “Hail to the Chief,” the late president was carried from the Capitol and transported by hearse along streets lined with spectators braving bitter cold. He passed through a mostly shut-down city where he arrived first as a congressman and later served as a UN ambassador, CIA director, vice president and, finally, as commander in chief.

“He was our shield in danger’s hour,” Jon Meacham, the presidential historian, said in his eulogy. “An imperfect man, he left us a more perfect union.”

Like all presidents, Bush oversaw plans for his own funeral starting years ago, updating the details as time went on so the ceremony would reflect his druthers. The readings came from three granddaughters.

Unlike some of his predecessors, Bush told advisers he did not want his ceremony to drag on endlessly, mindful of attendees’ time. Ninety minutes were blocked off, though these events typically extend past the allotted span.

“He told me I only had 10 minutes. He was direct about it. It wasn’t even funny,” said Simpson, whose eulogy provided a healthy dose of comic relief.

In the crowd sat Jordan’s King, Britain’s Prince of Wales, Germany’s Chancellor and Poland’s President, a reflection of a foreign policy hailed as measured and based in core American values.

“Let me tell you — when George Herbert Walker Bush was President of the United States, every single head of government in the world knew that they were dealing with a gentleman — a genuine leader — one who was distinguished, resolute and brave,” said former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

After Irish tenor Ronan Tynan sang the final hymn, “Last full measure of devotion,” Bush’s casket departed back down the marble aisle, returning eventually to his adopted hometown of Houston on the military aircraft known as Air Force One when a sitting president is aboard.

He’ll be buried in his family plot at Texas A&M University in College Station on Thursday.</s>A divided Washington led by the nation’s five living presidents put on a facade of unity Wednesday at the poignant state funeral of George H.W. Bush, as America bade farewell to its 41st president.

Donald and Melania Trump shared a front row pew at Washington National Cathedral with past presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and their wives as an honour guard brought Bush’s flag-draped casket into the packed prayer hall.

But the show of unity was only a facade as Trump snubbed the Clintons as he shook hands when he arrived.

Since Bush’s death, Trump has traded his usual provocative posture for one of respect and solemnity, tweeting before heading to the cathedral about “a day of celebration for a great man.”

Trump arrived and promptly shook hands with Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. But his greetings stopped there, as he failed to acknowledge Hillary Clinton, his defeated Democratic rival in 2016.

Clinton sat stone faced, looking straight ahead, and the pair did not make eye contact.

At the funeral, George W. Bush, America’s 43rd President delivered a rousing and deeply personal eulogy — at times punctuated by laughter — as he sang the praises of his father and predecessor as commander-in-chief, who died Friday at age 94.

“He was born with just two settings — full throttle, then sleep,” Bush said.

“To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light,” he added in reference to his father’s signature call to volunteerism.

“When the history books are written, they will say that George H.W. Bush was a great president of the United States.”

Bush’s eulogy followed an uplifting performance by Irish tenor Ronan Tynan — a friend of Bush who sang to the president in his dying hours.

Wednesday’s state funeral caps a day-long homage that saw Bush lie in state for two days in the US Capitol rotunda.

Other dignitaries in the cathedral included Britain’s Prince Charles, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Polish president Lech Walesa, former vice presidents Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Joe Biden, and former secretaries of state James Baker, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

Wednesday was a day of precision, patriotic ritual, and ceremony. George W. Bush and wife Laura stood stoically outside the US Capitol as an honor guard carried his father’s flag-draped casket to the hearse.

In a show of respect, Pennsylvania Avenue was lined with well-wishers as the cortege proceeded toward the Neo-Gothic cathedral in the first presidential funeral since Gerald Ford died in late 2006.

Earlier, tens of thousands of Americans had quietly filed in to the Capitol to pay their respects to a man who steered the nation through turbulent times including the end of the Cold War — and in a style dramatically different to the combative current president.

Trump’s ascendancy to the head of the Republican Party saw him exchange vitriolic attacks with the Bushes, notably slamming the presidential son’s 2003 invasion of Iraq as “one of the worst decisions in the history of our country.”

But he has taken pains to demonstrate unity since Bush’s death, and made a low-key visit to the Capitol late Monday with First Lady Melania Trump to salute Bush’s casket.

Trump declared Wednesday a national day of mourning. Many federal offices are closed along with Wall Street stock markets.

Congress also suspended votes — even in the midst of a looming potential shutdown that requires congressional action before midnight Friday.

Bush was a decorated World War II aviator who nearly lost his life when he was shot down on a bombing mission.

He served as a congressman, envoy to China and ambassador to the United Nations, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and vice president to Ronald Reagan before winning the White House.

At a time of extraordinary and deep political fissures, Bush was looked to this week as a gracious servant of country who aimed to bridge the political divide.

“His life code, as he said, was tell the truth, don’t blame people, be strong, do your best, try hard, forgive, stay the course.”

After the Washington service, Bush’s casket was flown back to Houston. The former head of state will lie in repose at St Martin’s Episcopal Church, where the Bushes worshipped for decades, until Thursday’s funeral.

He will be interred at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Centre in College Station, Texas, next to his wife, who died in April, and their daughter Robin who died of leukemia at age three.</s>George H.W. Bush, who shaped history as America's 41st president and patriarch of a family that occupied the White House for a dozen years, is going to his final rest Thursday in Texas.

More than 11,000 people paid their respects to Bush as his casket lay in repose all night at a Houston church where his family worshipped. Some visitors waited for hours to pay tribute to Bush, who will be buried following a funeral at St. Martin's Episcopal Church.

Thursday's service began with "America the Beautiful" and a robust rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

It attracted local sports stars including Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and was featuring eulogies from Bush's grandson, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, the only member of the famous family still holding elected office, and James Baker, his former secretary of state and a close friend for decades. Hymns being sung were chosen and loved by the former president, said the church's pastor, Rev. Russell J. Levenson Jr.

Performing were some of Bush's favorite country music stars including the Oak Ridge Boys doing "Amazing Grace" and Reba McEntire offering "The Lord's Prayer" as three days of official ceremonies in Washington gave way to more personal touches for the former president in Texas.

The nation's capital bid him goodbye Wednesday in a Washington funeral service that offered high praise for the last of the presidents to have fought in World War II — and a hefty dose of humor about a man whose speaking delivery was once described as a cross between Mister Rogers and John Wayne.

Bush's casket returned for the services in Houston, a ride on a special funeral train and eventual burial at his family plot on the presidential library grounds at Texas A&M University in College Station. His final resting place is alongside Barbara Bush, his wife of 73 years, and Robin Bush, the daughter they lost to leukemia at age 3.

In the service at Washington National Cathedral, three former presidents and President Donald Trump looked on as George W. Bush eulogized his father as "the brightest of a thousand points of light."

The cathedral service was a tribute to a president, a patriarch and a faded political era that prized military service and public responsibility. It was laced with indirect comparisons to Trump but was not consumed by them, as speakers focused on Bush's public life and character — with plenty of cracks about his goofy side, too.

"He was a man of such great humility," said Alan Simpson, former Republican senator from Wyoming. Those who travel "the high road of humility in Washington, D.C.," he added pointedly, "are not bothered by heavy traffic."

Trump sat with his wife, a trio of ex-presidents and their wives, several of them sharp critics of his presidency and one of them, Hillary Clinton, his 2016 Democratic foe. Apart from courteous nods and some handshakes, there was little interaction between Trump and the others.

George W. Bush broke down briefly at the end of his eulogy while invoking the daughter his parents lost in 1953 and his mother, who died in April. He took comfort in knowing "Dad is hugging Robin and holding Mom's hand again."

It was a family that occupied the White House for a dozen years — the 41st president defeated after one term, the 43rd serving two. Jeb Bush stepped up to try to extend that run but fell short when Trump won the 2016 Republican primaries.

The elder Bush was "the last great-soldier statesman," historian Jon Meacham said in his eulogy, "our shield" in dangerous times.

But he also said that Bush, campaigning in a crowd in a department store, once shook hands with a mannequin. Rather than flushing in embarrassment, he simply cracked, "Never know. Gotta ask."

Meacham recounted how comedian Dana Carvey once said the key to doing an impersonation of Bush was "Mister Rogers trying to be John Wayne."

None of those words would be a surprise to Bush. Meacham read his eulogy to him, said Bush spokesman Jim McGrath, and Bush responded to it with the crack: "That's a lot about me, Jon."

The congregation at the cathedral, filled with foreign leaders and diplomats, Americans of high office and others touched by Bush's life, rose for the arrival of the casket, accompanied by clergy of faiths from around the world. In their row together, Trump and former Presidents Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton stood with their spouses and all placed their hands over their hearts.

Simpson regaled the congregation with stories from his years as Bush's friend in Washington. More seriously, he recalled that when he went through a rough patch in the political game, Bush conspicuously stood by him against the advice of aides. "You would have wanted him on your side," he said.

Simpson said Bush "loved a good joke — the richer the better. And he threw his head back and gave that great laugh, but he never, ever could remember a punchline. And I mean never."

George W. Bush turned the humor back on the acerbic ex-senator, saying of the late president: "He placed great value on a good joke, so he chose Simpson to speak."

Meacham praised Bush's call to volunteerism — his "1,000 points of light" — placing it alongside Abraham Lincoln's call to honor "the better angels of our nature" in the American rhetorical canon. Meacham called those lines "companion verses in America's national hymn."

Trump had mocked "1,000 points of light" last summer at a rally, saying "What the hell is that? Has anyone ever figured that one out? And it was put out by a Republican, wasn't it?"

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney praised Bush as a strong world leader who helped oversee the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union and helped bring about the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, signed into law by his successor, Clinton.

With Trump, a bitter NAFTA critic, seated in the front row, Mulroney hailed the "largest and richest free trade area in the history of the world." The three countries have agreed on a revised trade agreement pushed by Trump.

On Wednesday morning, a military band played "Hail to the Chief" as Bush's casket was carried down the steps of the U.S. Capitol, where he had lain in state. Family members looked on as servicemen fired off a cannon salute.

His hearse was then driven in a motorcade to the cathedral ceremony, slowing in front of the White House. Bush's route was lined with people much of the way, bundled in winter hats and taking photos.</s>WASHINGTON — The CIA honored its old boss, the only spy chief to become president, with visits to George H.W. Bush’s flag-covered casket on Tuesday, joining members of the public who had lined up before dawn to pay respects to the 41st president in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

Besides the thousands of people streaming by, Sully, the late president’s service dog, was brought by, too.

In the midst of the mourning, the Trumps invited the Bush family to share some holiday cheer with a tour of the Christmas decorations at the White House. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited Bush’s casket in the hushed Capitol on Monday evening, standing with their eyes closed before the president gave a salute.

Trump and his wife were to visit the Bush family at the Blair House presidential guesthouse Tuesday.

Although the president will attend Bush’s national funeral service Wednesday, he is not among the eulogists announced by the Bush family, a list that includes the late president’s son, former President George W. Bush.

“The elegance & precision of the last two days have been remarkable!” Trump tweeted of the funeral ceremonies, which opened in Texas and came to Washington on Monday, with Bush lying in state at the Capitol until the Washington National Cathedral service.

Dignitaries came forward starting Monday to honor the Texan whose service to his country extended three quarters of a century from World War II through his final years as an advocate for volunteerism and relief for people displaced by natural disaster. President from 1989 to 1993, Bush died Friday at age 94.

On Tuesday, CIA Director Gina Haspel and former directors John Brennan and George Tenet visited Bush’s casket, as did Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when Bush assembled the coalition that rescued Kuwait from Iraq’s invasion in the Gulf War.

Trump’s relationship with the Bush family has been tense. The current president has mocked the elder Bush for his “thousand points of light” call to volunteerism, challenged his son’s legacy as president and trounced “low-energy” Jeb Bush in the Republican presidential primaries en route to office. The late President Bush called Trump a “blowhard.”

Those insults have been set aside, but the list of funeral service speakers marked the first time since Lyndon Johnson’s death in 1973 that a sitting president was not tapped to eulogize a late president. (Bill Clinton did so for Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush eulogized Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.)

Joining George W. Bush as eulogists Wednesday: Alan Simpson, the former senator and acerbic wit from Wyoming, Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister who also gave a eulogy for Reagan; and presidential historian Jon Meacham.

In an invocation opening Monday evening’s ceremony, the U.S. House chaplain, the Rev. Patrick J Conroy, praised Bush’s commitment to public service, from Navy pilot to congressman, U.N. ambassador, envoy to China and then CIA director before being elected vice president and then president.

“Here lies a great man,” said Rep. Paul Ryan, the House speaker, and “a gentle soul. … His legacy is grace perfected.”

Political combatants set aside their fights to honor a Republican who led in a less toxic era and at times found commonality with Democrats despite sharp policy disagreements. Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a past House speaker nominated for the post in the new Congress, exchanged a warm hug with George W. Bush and came away dabbing her face. Bush himself seemed to be holding back tears.

Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, placed wreaths in the short ceremony before the rotunda was opened to the public.

Sent off from Texas with a 21-gun salute, Bush’s casket was carried to Joint Base Andrews outside the capital city aboard an aircraft that often serves as Air Force One and designated “Special Air Mission 41” in honor of Bush’s place on the chronological list of presidents.

Cannon fire roared again outside the Capitol as the sun sank and the younger President Bush stood with his hand over his heart, watching the casket’s procession up the steps.

Bush was remembered just feet away from what he called “Democracy’s front porch,” the west-facing steps of the Capitol where he was sworn in as president.

Although Bush’s funeral services are suffused with the flourishes accorded presidents, by his choice they will not include a formal funeral procession through downtown Washington.

On Sunday, students, staff and visitors had flocked to Bush’s presidential library on the campus of Texas A&M University, with thousands of mourners paying their respects at a weekend candlelight vigil at a nearby pond and others contributing to growing flower memorials at Bush statues at both the library and a park in downtown Houston.

“I think he was one of the kindest, most generous men,” said Marge Frazier, who visited the downtown statue Sunday while showing friends from California around.

After services in Washington, Bush will be returned to Houston to lie in repose at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church before burial Thursday at his family plot on the library grounds. 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 leukemia in 1953 at age 3.

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

Bush’s passing puts him in the Washington spotlight after more than two decades living the relatively low-key life of a former president. His death also reduces membership in the ex-presidents’ club to four: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.</s>President for president: George W Bush breaks down while paying tributes to George H W Bush

Washington, Dec 6: Former president George W Bush on Wednesday, December 5, paid an emotional farewell to his father George H W Bush, also a former president, who died at his residence in Houston, Texas, last week aged 94.

Speaking at the National Cathedral in Washington where his father lied in state, the 43rd incumbent of the White House gave a 12-minute speech in which he reflected on his father's close bond with his six children, his love for Barbara to whom he was married for 73 years (the longest presidential marriage in the history of the US) and his enduring affection for Robin, the daughter he lost at the age of just four in 1954. She died of leukemia.

Bush said during his speech: "The best father a son or daughter can have" with his voice shaking. "And in our grief, let us smile knowing that dad is hugging Robin and holding mom's hand again." Barbara Bush passed away in April this year.

Also Read | Americans wear colourful socks to pay final tributes to George H W Bush

Four living American presidents were present on the occasion and were sitting on a bench in the front, along with their wives. They included Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, the oldest of all aged 94.

Bush Junior said his father had good qualities like finding character over pedigree and shared lighter stuff that the man hated certain vegetables like broccoli. He also recalled that during World War II, Bush Senior was shot down over the Pacific as a Navy pilot and that instances like those encouraged him to live everyday of his life "to the fullest".

Also Read | Former US president, George H W Bush dies at 94

George H W Bush had even gone for skydiving on his 90th birthday near the family's residence in Maine in front of all family members.</s>When President George W. Bush greeted former presidents and their spouses at the funeral for his father, George H.W. Bush, he offered more than a handshake to former first lady Michelle Obama. He appeared to slip her a piece of candy, causing Obama to break out in a wide smile.

It was a oddly lighthearted moment in the midst of a funeral proceeding, a microcosm of the unusual friendship between the 43rd president and the former first lady. Bush also snuck a cough drop to Obama during former Sen. John McCain's funeral in September.

Obama described the viral "cough drop moment" at McCain's funeral in an interview with "TODAY" in October.

"President Bush and I, we are forever seatmates because of protocol, and that's how we sit at all the official functions," Obama said about her relationship with the former president. "He's my partner in crime at every major thing where all the 'formers' gather. So we're together all the time."

Obama and Bush's friendship has become a model of bipartisan bonhomie since former President Barack Obama was in office. They famously shared a hug at the National Museum of African American History and Culture dedication ceremony in 2016.

Bush told People Magazine in 2017 that he and Obama shared a kinship thanks to their mutual sense of humor.

"She kind of likes my sense of humor. Anybody who likes my sense of humor, I immediately like," Bush said. "[The Obamas] are around serious people all the time and we just took to each other."

Bush acknowledged in another interview with Ellen DeGeneres in 2017 that his and Obama's friendship often surprises people, as it shows "that people on opposite sides of the political spectrum can actually like each other."

The Obamas were joined in the first pew at the National Cathedral in Washington for George H.W. Bush's funeral by President Trump and first lady Melania Trump, as well as former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton and former President Jimmy Carter and Rosslyn Carter.</s>WASHINGTON: International dignitaries gathered with US leaders on Wednesday at the funeral service for George H W Bush, a graceful show of unity that allowed Americans to hit pause on the toxic rhetoric that has engulfed Washington and national politics.

 The nation’s 41st president, who died Friday at age 94, laid in state for two days in the US Capitol rotunda, as President Donald Trump exchanged his usual aggressive posture for one of respect and solemnity.

 “Looking forward to being with the Bush family,” he tweeted early on Wednesday, before Bush’s remains were transported from the Capitol to Washington National Cathedral.

 “This is not a funeral, this is a day of celebration for a great man who has led a long and distinguished life. He will be missed!”

 Tens of thousands of Americans quietly filed in to the Capitol to pay their respects to a man who steered the nation through turbulent times including the end of the Cold War — and in a style dramatically different from the bombast and combativeness championed by the current commander-in-chief.

 In a show of respect, Pennsylvania Avenue was lined with well-wishers as a cortege proceeded toward the cathedral in the first presidential funeral since Gerald Ford died in late 2006.

 The country’s five living presidents — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Bush’s son George W Bush, Barack Obama, and Trump — were attending the service at Washington National Cathedral, the Neo-Gothic spiritual centerpoint of the US capital.

 George W Bush and wife Laura stood stoically outside the US Capitol as an honour guard carried his father’s flag-draped casket to the hearse.

 Dignitaries in the cathedral included Britain’s Prince Charles, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan, former Polish president Lech Walesa, former vice presidents Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Joe Biden and former secretaries of state James Baker, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

 International tributes have poured in for Bush, whose political locus was foreign policy and America’s place in the world.

 A telegram from the Vatican relayed Pope Francis’s “heartfelt condolences” to the Bush family.

 Trump’s ascendancy to the head of the Republican Party saw him exchange vitriolic attacks with the Bushes, including mocking Bush senior’s “thousand points of light” phrase and slamming the presidential son’s 2003 invasion of Iraq as “one of the worst decisions in the history of our country.” — AFP</s>Supplied video obtained Wednesday, December 5, 2018 of President US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump visit the US Capitol Rotunda to pay respects to the 41st US president George HW Bush. Bush died last week at the age of 94 and will be buried on Thursday in his home state of Texas. (AAP Video/Supplied/The White House) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Donald Trump has come face-to-face with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during an awkward moment at the funeral for George H.W. Bush.

Mr Trump arrived at the Washington Cathedral with his wife Melania and was seated next to the Obamas, the Clintons and Americas oldest living former president, Jimmy Carter.

Mr and Mrs Obama shook hands with the Trumps, but Mrs Clinton stared straight ahead and made no movement to greet the first couple.

For his part, Mr Clinton held out his hand which Mr Trump either ignored or just didn’t see.

Prior to Mr Trump’s arrival, the Obamas and the Clintons had chatted happily in the front row, and had also greeted US Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen.

It was an awkward moment in a funeral that has so far brought together both sides of the aisle.

Earlier, a military band played “Hail to the Chief” as the casket of the 41st president was carried down the US Capitol steps in a solemn procession, with members of the Bush family watching and a cannon salute.

His son, former President George W. Bush, placed his hand over his heart. Military pallbearers carried the casket up the steps to the cathedral.

The hearse had been driven in a motorcade to the Washington National Cathedral ceremony, slowing in front of the White House.

Mr Bush’s route was lined with people much of the way, bundled in winter hats and taking photos. A military color guard stood at attention as the hearse arrived.

Wednesday’s ceremonies capped three days of remembrance in the nation’s capital by dignitaries and ordinary citizens as they honoured the Republican president who oversaw the post-Cold War world transition and led a successful Gulf War, only to lose re-election in a generational shift to Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992.

The four living ex-presidents all came - among them, George W. Bush who will eulogise his father - and President Donald Trump will attend but is not scheduled to speak. Also attending: one king (Jordan), one queen (Jordan), two princes (Britain, Bahrain), Germany’s chancellor and Poland’s president, among representatives of more than a dozen countries.

Mr Trump tweeted Wednesday that he was “looking forward to being with the Bush family,” calling the day “a celebration for a great man who has led a long and distinguished life.”

Bush’s death reduces membership in the ex-presidents’ club to four: Jimmy Carter, Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Bush’s remains will be flown to Houston to lie in repose before a private burial Thursday at his family plot on the presidential library grounds at Texas A&M University in College Station.
U.S. President Donald Trump and former U.S. Presidents George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton attend the ceremony alongside German chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain's Prince Charles.