Heir Presumptive

An Heir Presumptive (capitalised) is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an Heir Apparent or of a new Heir Presumptive with a better claim to the throne. When lowercased, heir presumptive can refer generally to someone who is provisionally scheduled to inherit a title, position or possession, unless displaced by an heir apparent or other heir presumptive. In both cases, the position is however subject to law and/or conventions that may alter who is entitled to be heir presumptive.

Example of current heir presumptive

• Caroline, Princess of Hanover is the Heiress Presumptive to the throne of Monaco

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"...whose position can be displaced by the birth of an Heir Apparent."

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Please either change the definition in the first paragraph if it is incorrect, or argue how e.g. William can be

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displaced by an Heir Apparent. Thank you. - Austrian, June 25, 2005.

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It could be argued that nearly any royal who sits 2nd in line to the throne is an Heir or Heiress Presumptive, for they are eligible to inherit the throne at any time. This then, would mean that:

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• Prince William is the Heir Presumptive to the throne of the United Kingdom
• Princess Catharina Amalia of the Netherlands is the Heiress Presumptive to the throne of The Netherlands, etc.
• Infanta Elena of Spain is Heiress Presumptive to the throne of Spain
• Princess Ingrid Alexandra is Heiress Presumptive to the throne of Norway, etc.