WASHINGTON - The funeral of President George H.W. Bush got underway on Wednesday, with US and foreign dignitaries gathered to commemorate the life of a World War II hero, Cold War veteran and former head of the CIA who went on to represent an era of civility in US politics.

An unusual bipartisan spirit was on display at the service at the Washington National Cathedral with both Republican and Democratic politicians gathering to honor a president who called for a "kinder, gentler" nation.

Bush, the 41st US president, died last week in Texas aged 94.

Hundreds of people lined Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington to watch a hearse drive Bush's coffin from Capitol Hill, where he had lain in state since Monday night, toward the cathedral. Bush was president from 1989 to 1993.

Political feuds were briefly set aside in honor of the late president, a naval aviator who was shot down over the Pacific Ocean in World War II, and a commander in chief who defeated Iraqi forces in the 1991 Gulf War.

Trump shook hands with his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, who he has often sharply criticized, as he took his seat at the cathedral.

Democratic former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump's 2016 election opponent, and her husband Bill Clinton shared the front pew with Obama, Trump and their spouses.

Trump, a Republican, infuriated the late president by attacking his sons, former President George W. Bush and Jeb Bush, one of Trump's rivals in the 2016 Republican primary campaign.

Bush has been remembered as a patrician figure who represented a bygone era of civility in American politics.

He was voted out of office in 1992 in part for failing to connect with ordinary Americans during an economic recession. But his reputation for moderation and politeness has shone more brightly in recent years in light of the divisiveness and anger in the United States that accompanied the rise of Trump.

Reuters