Melania Trump attended her first public engagement on Monday after more than three weeks out of the public eye.

The First Lady's appearance at the event for military families, her first public engagement since her hospitalisation for a kidney procedure last month, came after it emerged she would not accompany her husband to the G7 summit in Canada, or the Singapore meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The White House did not allow journalists to cover the Gold Star event out of respect for the families, which meant Mrs. Trump was seen in person only by the 40 or so families and administration officials who attended.

Video posted on Twitter showed the first lady, who wore a black sleeveless dress and her trademark stilettos, strolling into the East Room accompanied by President Donald Trump. He showed her to a front-row seat across the aisle from Vice President Mike Pence before heading to the microphone.