Unlike in Saudi Arabia, Melania Trump covered her hair at the Vatican


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived at the Vatican on Wednesday morning for their meeting with Pope Francis, and the first lady was wearing a mantilla, or lace head scarf covering her hair.
Fussing over the fashion choices of presidential wives is pretty silly, but it is worth noting — as Trump did with Michelle Obama — that women in Saudi Arabia are legally required to cover their heads, and neither Obama nor Melania and Ivanka Trump did so on their visits to the Muslim kingdom. Ivanka, a convert to Orthodox Judaism, wore a head-scarf at the Vatican, too. Women are not required or generally encouraged to cover their head in the Catholic Church.
The Vatican has loosened up a bit, Italy's La Stampa said in 2011. "Since the 1980s," explained Giacomo Galeazzi, "the dress code (tailcoat for men, black dress and veil for women) has become far less rigid. Only in private hearings with the pope are women required to cover their heads and wear mourning clothes. In hearings with the Holy Father, women are required to wear a dress with a sober cut and color, which should preferably be black." Catholic queens are allowed to wear white — Cherie Blair, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, caused a minor scandal when she wore white to an audience with Pope Benedict in 2006, and Russian first lady Raissa Gorbaciova wore a red dress to a papal audience. Female leaders often don't wear black with the pope, either, and apparently mantillas are optional, too — here's German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a private audience with Pope Francis in 2016:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As they say, ask and you shall receive.
Update 8:03 a.m.: "Per Vatican protocol, women who have an audience with the pope are required to wear long sleeves, formal black clothing, and a veil to cover the head," Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump's communications director, told CNN, noting that Michelle Obama wore a similar outfit when she had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. The first lady did not cover her head in Saudi Arabia, Grisham added, because Saudi Arabia did not request any particular attire.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.
-
Exodus begins from Burning Man after desert mud trapped tens of thousands
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
'Margaritaville' singer Jimmy Buffett dies at 76
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
American Airlines suing website that offers tickets via price loopholes
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Federal agencies investigating near miss between Southwest jet and private plane
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens dies at 70
Speed Read
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Trader Joe's recalls 4 products in a week amid reports of rocks and insects inside food
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Emmys to be postponed for first time since after 9/11 due to strikes
Speed Read
By Brendan Morrow Published