Is the Wife of a Lieutenant Governor a ‘Second Lady’?

Is there an official guideline in print somewhere that states we are to address the wife of a Lt. Governor as ‘Second Lady’? I have not found anything that refers to this or gives that title to a Lt. Governor’s spouse. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
—————–– Diane

Dear Diane:
—-#1) The spouses of many officials are informally described as a First Lady to define who they are. It’s not a form of address. The wife of a lieutenant governor is most formally Mrs. (Surname), wife of the Lieutenant Governor of (Name of State). There is no title.

—-#2) The only spouses of government officials I know of having official special forms of address are in Commonwealth countries: the spouse of the Queen’s representative to a Commonwealth realm … is addressed as:

Official envelope:
—-—-His/Her Excellency Mrs. (Husband’s full name)
—-—-His/Her Excellency Mr. (Full name)

Salutation:
—-—-Your Excellency
—-—-Mrs. (Surname)

And the spouse of the Queen’s representative to a province … is addressed as:

Official envelope:
—-—-His/Her Honor (Full Name)

Salutation:
—-—-Your Honor
—-—-Mr./Ms./etc. (Surname)

—-#3) Even ‘First Lady of the United States’ is not an office. When the wife of the President attends events as The President’s representative she is granted his precedence, but she has no official precedence of her own based on being the spouse of the POTUS.

—-#4) ‘First Lady’ is used as an honorific at some African-American congregations where they address the spouse of their pastor as ‘First Lady (Surname)’. But using ‘First Lady’ as an honorific is not the tradition at the White House or with other U.S. political spouses. A spouse of a current President of the United States is correctly addressed as ‘Mrs. (Surname)’.

– Robert Hickey

Related “Spouse of” Posts: ———Governor———Lieutenant Governor———Pastor———President———Spouse of an Official———Vice President, Husband———Vice President, Wife

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

How to Address a Lieutenant Governor and Spouse

How does one address an invitation’s envelope to the mayor and his wife?
——————–– Maria Caffi

Dear Ms. Caffi:
A lieutenant governor is addressed on an envelope as the Honorable (Full Name). Invitations to events, even official events, are assumed to be social. Job titles do not appear on social correspondence: so, no reference to the job he/she holds.

—-#1) If the lieutenant governor is a man and his spouse uses (Mrs.) + (same family name), then traditionally her given name does not appear:
—-—-The Honorable William Stanton
—-—-and Mrs. Stanton
—-—-(Address)

—-#2) If the lieutenant governor is a man and she a different surname … then her full name appears:
—-—-The Honorable William Smith
—-—-and Ms. Linda Blake
—-—-(Address)

—-#3) If the lieutenant governor is a woman, his full name appears whether he uses the same or different surname:
—-—-Using the Same Surname:
—-—-—-The Honorable Linda Stanton
—-—-—-and Mr. William Stanton
—-—-—-(Address)

—-—-Using Different Surnames:
—-—-—-The Honorable Linda Blake
—-—-—-and Mr. William Smith
—-—-—-(Address)

—-When person is the Honorable – they get their name as unit – not combined with anyone else’s name. You see this style used but, use it only when space is an issue. Officials love their names spelled out fully. The longer the better.:
—-—-The Honorable and Mrs. William Stanton
—-—-(Address)

—-#4) If the spouse has her own rank, courtesy title, or some special honorific, and does not have higher precedence, then both get their full name:
—-—-The Honorable (Full Name)
—-—-and the Honorable (Full Name)
—-—-(Address)

—-—-The Honorable (Full Name)
—-—-and Dr. Linda Stanton
—-—-(Address)

—-—-The Honorable (Full Name)
—-—-and the Reverend (full name)
—-—-(Address)

—-Probably more answer than you wanted … but I hope it is useful.

– Robert Hickey How to Address the Spouse of a Lieutenant Governor

Related Posts:
——–—Couples: Private Citizens
——–—Couples: Christian Clergy
——–—Couples: Rabbis
——–—Couples: Military
——–—Couples: U.S. Officials
——–—Couples: Same Sex

See these Related Posts:
–——-Governor, Board of Governors
–——-Governor General
–——-Governor of a Tribe
–——-Governor of a US State
–——-Spouse of the Governor of a State
–——-Lieutenant Governor of a State
—–—-Spouse of a Lieutenant Governor of a State
–——-Staff of a Governor of a State

See these Related Posts:
–—–—Spouse of the President of the USA
–—–—Wife of the Vice President of the USA
–—-—Husband of the Vice President of the USA
–—–—Spouse of the Governor of a State
–—–—Spouse of the Lieutenant Governor of a State
–—–—Spouses of other elected officials
–—–—Spouse of the Pastor of a Church “First Lady”
–—–—Spouse of a Pastor of a Church

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

When Should You Use the Forms on this Page?

You can use these forms of address for any mode of communication: addressing a letter, invitation, card or Email. (If there are differences between the official and social forms of address, I will have mentioned the different forms.)  The form noted in the salutation is the same form you say when you say their name in conversation or when you greet them.
___What I don’t cover on this site are many things I do cover in my book: all the rules of forms of address, about names, international titles, precedence, complimentary closes, details on invitations, place cards, all sorts of introductions, etc. I hope you’ll get a copy of the book if you’d like the further detail.

Not Finding Your Answer?

—-#1)  At right on desktops, at the bottom of every page on tablets and phones, is a list of all the offices, officials & topics covered on the site.

—-#2)  If you don’t see the official you seek included or your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day or so (unless I am traveling.)  Note: I don’t have mailing or Email addresses for any of the officials and I don’t keep track of offices that exist only in history books.

—-#3)  If I think your question is of interest to others, Sometimes I post the question  – but always change all the specifics.

— Robert Hickey 

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Recommended Resources:  The Protocol School of Washington (PSOW) and Protocol and Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA)    For more information see the Protocol Resources page.