Meeting God's representative on earth must be a stressful time. An audience  has long been sought after by commoners and royals, presidents and peasants. No one takes the meeting lightly, where everything will be important even, perhaps especially, the clothes you wear.

There's no shortage of protocols and traditions to keep in mind if you're granted the privilege of meeting the pope, and some have been making big news after Donald Trump and his family met with the Holy Father.

While visiting the Middle East, Melania and Ivanka Trump raised eyebrows when they didn't conform to tradition while meeting dignitaries in Saudi Arabia. Both women left their heads uncovered, although still dressed modestly. Days later, while meeting the pope, Melania and Ivanka opted for more traditional garments and still created a stir.

Many people accused the women of the White House of dressing too funereal, and several awkward photos leaked to press didn't help the notion. However the two women were only adhering to centuries old guidelines on how to dress for the Pope.

See Why The Trumps Were Clad In Black On The Next Page

According to scholars, women meeting the Pope must dress all in black, wear a long dress with sleeves, no jewelry and keep their heads covered by a veil. Melania observed all the rules faithfully (she's a practicing Catholic) while Ivanka modernized the style by only keeping her hair covered.

This is not unique. Before the Trumps, Michelle Obama (also criticized for not covering her head with the Saudis) also wore black and veiled herself. Even Queen Elizabeth conformed when she first met the pope in 1980.

Pope Francis has famously relaxed several rules, including the adherence to the dress code, but even before him there were exceptions to the dress code. A Catholic queen and queens consort are allowed to wear white while meeting a pope, it's called Privilege du blanc.

Earlier this year the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla Parker Bowles disregarded tradition, wearing beige and refusing to veil herself. According to others who attended the audience the Pope was pleased to meet her, and welcomed the change in dress code.

"Things have become more relaxed over the last few years there are no hard and fast rules," a Vatican spokesperson said at the time.