Who Is The 1st Gentleman?

In the 'family' photo of the G-20 summit in London, there were 27 gentlemen and 3 Ladies: Queen Elizabeth of England, The President of Argentine, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, and the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. In the other photos the 13 ladies were presented as first ladies of their respective countries, visiting the Opera House in the British capital. Those absent in some parts were the consorts of female governmental heads. It's the custom of America, both in the north as in the south continent, that the wives of presidents accompany their husbands on official travels abroad. This custom has over the years extended to other countries and continents. But it's not infrequent in recent years, when the president or prime minister is a lady. This presents a little problem for the correct denomination. Sometimes the matter gets even somewhat complicated, like in the case of Argentine, when the president Cristina Fernandez was previously wife of President Nestor Kirchner. Should we continue to address him as president, ex president, or president consort? Or, in the strict symmetry, 'First gentleman'? Hillary Clinton was close to becoming the title tenant of the White House, after her husband with that same title. How would we call Bill Clinton, had she not been converted to state secretary, simplifying the delicate matter of official protocol. The Spanish Constitution maintains certain lexical discrimination. In it's article 58, it's established that 'the queen consort or the consort of the queen can not assume constitutional functions ...; it doesn't say the king consort, the equivalent of queen consort, but the consort of the queen, which seems of a lower grade. None of these is important. I am never one for too much formality, just my personal observation; thinking out loud. Tags:1stLady,1stgentlemen,Consort

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