--- description: Melania and Ivanka Trump wore veils to meet Pope Francis, following the traditional dress code for private papal audiences at the Vatican title: Melania and Ivanka Trump Wore Veils to Meet the Pope image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c7d7925c508edc0/6988cea68fd2ee492b357327/ivanka-trump-melania-trump-vatican-veils.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Melania Trump](/tag/melania-trump/) ## Melania Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Melania and Ivanka Trump Wore Veils to Meet the Pope  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 24, 2017 12:15 PM CUT  Pope Francis (C) walks past First Lady Melania Trump (R) and Ivanka Trump (L), the daughter of President Donald Trump, at the end of a private audience at the Vatican on May 24, 2017. Pope Francis (C) walks past First Lady Melania Trump (R) and Ivanka Trump (L), the daughter of President Donald Trump, at the end of a private audience at the Vatican on May 24, 2017.Alessandra Tarantino—AFP/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 24, 2017 12:15 PM CUT Melania and Ivanka Trump wore black veils to [meet Pope Francis](http://time.com/4791969/president-trump-pope-francis-meeting-vatican/?xid=homepage "undefined") on Wednesday, following the traditional dress code for private papal audiences at the Vatican. “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, spokesperson for the First Lady, said in a [statement](http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/24/politics/melania-trump-pope-francis-headscarf-fashion/ "undefined") to CNN. Both Melania and Ivanka Trump [eschewed headscarves](http://time.com/4787178/donald-trump-saudi-arabia-melania-ivanka-headscarves/ "undefined") during their recent visit to Saudi Arabia, a conservative Muslim country where women are expected to wear headscarves. The move contradicted President Donald Trump’s old [criticism](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/560839957426999297?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F4787178%2Fdonald-trump-saudi-arabia-melania-ivanka-headscarves%2F "undefined") of former First Lady Michelle Obama for making a similar decision. Obama opted not to wear a headscarf in Saudi Arabia in 2015, but she wore a black veil and a black dress when she [met Pope Benedict XVI](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/International/story?id=8049308&page=1 "undefined") at the Vatican in 2009. While the dress code for papal audiences has received a good deal of attention, it’s possible Pope Francis has taken a more relaxed approach in recent years. “Things have become more relaxed over the last few years. There are no hard and fast rules,” a spokesperson for the Vatican told [The Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/style/le-privilege-du-blanc-pope-francis-has-relaxed-strict-dress/ "undefined") last month, after Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wore a champagne-colored dress and no veil while meeting the Pope at the Vatican. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4792096/melania-ivanka-trump-veil-pope-francis-vatican/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4792096/melania-ivanka-trump-veil-pope-francis-vatican/"},"headline":"Melania and Ivanka Trump Wore Veils to Meet the Pope","datePublished":"2017-05-24T12:15:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:05:31.506Z","description":"They followed the traditional Vatican dress code for private papal audiences","url":"https://time.com/4792096/melania-ivanka-trump-veil-pope-francis-vatican/","keywords":["Melania Trump","Pope Francis topic","faith","Donald Trump","Ivanka Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c7d7925c508edc0/6988cea68fd2ee492b357327/ivanka-trump-melania-trump-vatican-veils.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c7d7925c508edc0/6988cea68fd2ee492b357327/ivanka-trump-melania-trump-vatican-veils.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"VATICAN-POPE-AUDIENCE-US-DIPLOMACY","caption":"VATICAN-POPE-AUDIENCE-US-DIPLOMACY","creditText":"Alessandra Tarantino—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/melania-trump/","name":"Melania Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4792096/melania-ivanka-trump-veil-pope-francis-vatican/","name":"Melania and Ivanka Trump Wore Veils to Meet the Pope"}}]}] ```