Billionaire Trump weds third wife

Melania Knauss was wearing a dress by John Galliano for Dior

Billionaire Donald Trump has married for the third time at a glitzy ceremony attended by the US celebrity elite.

The New York entrepreneur and property magnate tied the knot with his girlfriend of six years, Slovenian model Melania Knauss, on Saturday.

The wedding, held at Mr Trump's mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, has been the subject of intense media coverage.

Clint Eastwood, Muhammad Ali and Sir Elton John were expected among some 400 guests - but not the two ex-Mrs Trumps.

'Beautiful' wedding

The man the Americans call 'The Donald' has built a fabled reputation on the back of his recent reality TV show, The Apprentice, and a series of huge property deals.

The latest Mrs Trump, a 34-year-old Slovenian-Austrian, on Saturday walked down the aisle in a dress designed by John Galliano for Dior valued at $200,000 (£106,500).

Trump has two sons and a daughter with his previous wife, Ivana

Unusually, Mrs Trump's wedding gown - as well as a 15 carat diamond engagement ring worth some $1.5m (£800,000)- had been shown on the cover of Vogue magazine.

After a short ceremony at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, the couple slipped into Mr Trump's car and drove past hundreds of onlookers.

"Oh, it was beautiful. It was all just lovely," singer Tony Bennett, one of the guests, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

Boxing promoter Don King, another guest, said there had been "a spontaneous combustion of love".

The BBC's Jeremy Cooke says Americans are fascinated by the details of the wedding, with television crews and paparazzi falling over themselves to cover the event.

It is widely reported that the 58-year-old entrepreneur has negotiated substantial discounts on the ring, the dress and most other wedding essentials, he says.

Mr Trump's propensity to name his company's skyscrapers, casinos and holiday resorts after himself have all given substance to his reputation as the walking embodiment of the American dream, our correspondent adds.

He was previously married for 15 years to Ivana Trump, with whom he had two sons and a daughter, and for six years to Marla Maples, with whom he had one daughter.