Funeral of former First Lady Barbara Bush held in Houston

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The funeral for the late former First Lady Barbara Bush was held Saturday in a church in Houston, the United States, with four former US presidents and other dignitaries present.

Former President George H.W. Bush was helped into the cavernous sanctuary with a wheelchair behind his sons, former President George W. Bush and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and other Bush relatives to remember his wife of 73 years.

Seated near the front of the church were two other former presidents -- Bill Clinton and Barack Obama -- along with their wives and current First Lady Melania Trump.

Former Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush arrive as they pass by former first lady Hillary Clinton (L to R), former President Bill Clinton, former first lady Michelle Obama, former President Barack Obama and first lady Melania Trump at St. Martin's Episcopal Church for a funeral service for former first lady Barbara Bush in Houston, Texas, U.S., April 21, 2018. /VCG Photo

National flags were flown at half-mast for the wife of the nation's 41st president as the service began at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston.

President Donald Trump did not attend the funeral, but released a statement on Saturday saying his "thoughts and prayers" are "with the entire Bush family."

After the funeral, a motorcade carried her body to the George Bush Presidential Library Center in College Station, Texas, on the campus of Texas A&M University. There, she will be buried next to their their daughter, Robin, who died of leukemia in 1953.

Barbara Bush served as the first lady during her husband George H. W. Bush's presidency between 1989 and 1993. She is also the mother of former President George W. Bush, who served between 2001 and 2009

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency