Melania and son Barron Trump move into the White House, five months after Donald

President's wife and son broke with tradition and remained in New York after he took office

Five months after Donald Trump became US President, and at a cost of millions to the taxpayer, Melania and Barron Trump have joined him in the White House.

In a break with the tradition of previous First Families, the 47-year-old former model decided to stay in New York with her 11-year-old son following Mr Trump’s inauguration, so Barron could finish school.

But on Sunday the family finally touched down in Washington DC, arriving on the White House lawn in the Marine One helicopter.

Ms Trump later confirmed the move with a tweet of a photo showing a view from the Presidential residence.

“Looking forward to the memories we’ll make in our new home!” she said, adding the hash tag “#Movingday.”

Barron Trump will attend the private St Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland for sixth grade in the autumn.

The First Family's stay in New York is estimated to have cost the US taxpayer at least $17.6m (£13.8m) in security costs.

After Ms Trump returned to Trump Tower on 22 January, a minimum of $127,000 per day (£100,000) has been spent on security for her and Barron, according to Police Commissioner James O'Neill.

The cost is likely to be much higher, as some days the cost rose to $146,000 (£115,000) to protect Melania and Barron, even when Mr Trump was not in town.

President Trump’s older children have had a much higher public profile. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, took an office in the West Wing in March.

She is an influential member of the President’s team, along with her husband Jared Kushner.

Mr Trump’s other sons, Eric and Donald Jr, do not have official government roles and took over the family business when their father took office. They remain vocal supporters. Mr Trump’s other daughter, Tiffany, has maintained a lower profile but attended several of her father's key 2016 campaign events.

Melania Trump stayed largely out of sight during her husband's presidential campaign and was an absent First Lady at the outset of the administration.

But she has slowly been raising her profile at the White House, joining the President when foreign leaders and their spouses visit, co-hosting the annual Easter Egg Roll and holding some solo events.

She recently accompanied Mr Trump on his first foreign trip, a nine-day journey through Saudi Arabia, Israel, Belgium and Italy that marked her first extended turn as First Lady in the public spotlight.

Now that she is at the White House full time, pressure will build for her to be seen more and to do more. She said during the campaign that she would work on the issue of cyberbullying as first lady, but she has made no further announcements about the subject.

She has also shown an interest in military veterans and empowering women and girls.

Additional reporting by AP