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Ivanka Trump has received an award on behalf of her late mother Ivana, who was honored by the Czech president for her “dedication to the country’s cultural and social life.”
The 40-year-old stunned in a floor-length black dress with a built-in embellished sash wrapped around the sash as she entered the Independent Czechoslovak State Day celebrations with her husband Jared Kushner, 41, and her brother Donald Trump Jr., 44, at Friday.
She attended the event to receive her mother’s award at the prestigious Prague Castle and led her brother and husband down the aisle to greet the president.
President Miloš Zeman, 78, who was transported in a wheelchair, honored the native Czech at the ceremony.
After Ivana’s death, Zeman told her children: ‘Not only was your mother an excellent athlete and a capable manager, but I also remember her as a kind and warm person. Moreover, she remained a proud Czech who never forgot her homeland.’
Ivana, who died at the end of June this year at the age of 73, was born in the Czech Republic in the Moravian town of Zlín, which was called Gottwaldov during the communist years.
She was born in Zlín in 1949, at the beginning of Joseph Stalin’s communist influence over the country, to electrical engineer Miloš Zelníček and telephone operator Marie Zelníčková.
Ivanka Trump, 40, (right) looked stunning in a floor-length black dress with a built-in embellished sash around the sash as she entered the Independent Czechoslovak State Day celebrations with husband Jared Kushner, 41, and brother Donald Trump Jr. , 44, (right) on Friday
The former fashion designer attended the event to receive her mother’s award at the prestigious Prague Castle (pictured with husband Jared Kushner and brother Don Jr.)
Ivana (last pictured before her death) was honored by the Czech president for her “dedication to the country’s cultural and social life.” Ivana was born in the country in 1949, the beginning of the communist regime
Ivana started a modeling career in her home country before finally moving to Canada and then to the United States.
Lara Trump, Don Jr.’s wife, shared: Fox news at the time of her death that Ivana could only escape from the communist country because she was a ‘world-class skier’.
She would eventually meet her ex-husband Donald Trump, 76, and have three children with him: Don. Jr, Ivanka and Eric, 38. The couple married in 1977 and divorced in 1992.
Independent Czechoslovak State Day is celebrated on October 28 every year to commemorate the fact that Czechoslovakia became a country after World War I. Czechoslovakia would eventually split into two countries – Czechia and Slovakia in December 1992.
A month after Ivana’s death, the coroner ruled that she died as a result of a fall. She is said to have fallen into her $2.5 million mansion on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where she was found at the bottom of the stairs by a housekeeper.
The examiner said she died of blunt force injuries to the torso from the fall and that it was an accident.
At her funeral, the family displayed a few of her magazine covers, including her May 1992 Vanity Fair cover, which shows her sitting on a yellow couch with the headline “Ivana Be a Star.”
The original cover had Hillary Clinton’s name on the cover, with the headline “Will she go to the White House with Bill or without him?”
But the version on display at Ivana’s memorial on Lexington Avenue appeared without the headline, which was issued during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
The photos also showed that the other two headlines on the cover of the Vanity Fair magazine remained on the version shown at her funeral.
President Miloš Zeman, 78, (pictured) transported in a wheelchair, honored the native Czech at the ceremony
Ivanka and Don Jr. were seen shaking the president’s hand while another man held their mother’s prize
Two of Ivana’s children were seen during the ceremony (pictured)
They talked about conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh and the other about Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines.
It’s not clear why exactly the headline was removed from the cover at the funeral. Donald and both Clintons were friends, with Bill and Hillary both attending his 2005 wedding to Melania.
But the relationship soured when Trump ran against Hillary in the 2016 presidential election, spreading conspiracy theories about the couple.
All of Ivana’s children spoke Wednesday at the two-hour mass service for 100 mourners, including Donald, his wife Melania and their 16-year-old son Barron.
Ivanka told the crowd, “Growing up, my mother didn’t tell me that a woman could do anything she wanted — she showed me.
‘She was a pioneer for both men and women. My mom once told me there was nothing she couldn’t do in heels. She taught us how to spear fish and then cook what we had caught. My mother has expanded our minds.’
Don Jr. then spoke and delighted the congregation with fond memories and jokes. Before going back to his seat, he said, “I love you, Mom.”
Ivana and Trump (pictured in 1988) married in 1977 and divorced in 1992 and share three children: Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric, 38
Ivana’s funeral took place in New York City in late July and she was carried into St. Vincent Ferrer Church in a gold casket
Donald’s entire family attended the funeral, including his youngest Barron, 16, and wife Melania, 52
Ivanka held the hand of one of her children as she watched sadly as the coffin was loaded
Eric Trump, the youngest, then spoke: “She had brains; she had beauty. She was the embodiment of the American dream…
She was a force of nature, she could beat any man on the slopes, any woman on the catwalk. She ruled over us three [kids] with an iron fist but also a heart of gold.’
A mountain of red roses lay in front of the altar, surrounded by 73 burning candles that symbolized each year of Ivana’s life.
After the service, Ivana’s body was carried out of the building in a gold coffin, past her family and dozens of VIP guests.
In August, Ivana accompanied the youngest as movers with her valuables. Among the many items that came to an end were Ivana’s old Vogue magazines.