Names and faces
■ First lady Melania Trump delayed her move to Washington after Donald Trump became president to gain leverage in renegotiating her prenuptial agreement, according to a new book, which came out Friday. Mary Jordan, author of the book The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump,
wrote that the 2016 campaign had been rife with reports about Trump’s alleged infidelities, and the first lady was learning new details about them from media reports. Jordan, a reporter for The Washington Post, wrote that the incoming first lady wanted time to cool off and amend her financial arrangement with Trump to ensure the financial future of herself and their son, Barron. Melania Trump has said she wanted to wait until the end of the school year to move to Washington. Citing interviews with several people close to the Trumps, Jordan wrote that during the campaign, Melania Trump thought a lot had changed since she signed the prenuptial. She had been with Trump longer than any other woman, and she believed she had made crucial contributions to his success, Jordan wrote. She also wanted to ensure that Barron got his “rightful share of inheritance,” particularly if Ivanka Trump took the reins of the family business. Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for the first lady, said the book was based on inaccurate information. “Yet another book about Mrs. Trump with false information and sources,” Grisham said in an emailed statement. “This book belongs in the fiction genre.”
■ Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday was marked Saturday with a smaller ceremony than usual, as the annual Trooping the Color parade was canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic. The extravagant display of pomp and pageantry, a highlight of the royal calendar that typically attracts thousands of tourists to line the streets of central London, has only been canceled once before during almost 70 years of the queen’s reign — in 1955, during a national rail strike. This year, a small number of soldiers and military musicians paid tribute to the monarch at Windsor Castle. The queen received a royal salute, before watching a display by soldiers who marched on the castle grounds in accordance with social distancing rules. It was Elizabeth’s first official public appearance since lockdown measures were imposed in March. The queen celebrated her 94th birthday on April 21, but her “official” birthday has always been marked with the Trooping the Color parade in June. The “colors” refer to the flags representing the different regiments of the British Army. The event usually features hundreds of parading soldiers and horses, a carriage procession by the royal family, and a Royal Air Force flyover over Buckingham Palace.