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An heir presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honor, 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 another 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.

Depending on the rules of the monarchy the heir presumptive might be the daughter of a monarch (if males take priority over females and the monarch has no sons), or the senior member of a collateral line (if the monarch is childless).

If an heir apparent is born, he becomes first-in-line to the throne, with all of his descendants taking priority over the heir presumptive in the Line of Succession. In the event of there being an heir apparent, the most senior person in the Line of Succession who is not a direct male descendant of the monarch is not described as heir presumptive.

For more detailed information, and a comparison between the positions of heir presumptive and heir apparent, see heir apparent.

Contents 1 Several simultaneous 2 Heirs presumptive as of 2009 3 Examples of heirs presumptive who inherited thrones 4 Examples of heirs presumptive who did not inherit thrones 5 See also

[edit] Several simultaneous

It is relatively easy for there to be several simultaneous heirs presumptive. For example, in England, some hereditary titles pass through and vest in female heirs in the absence of a male heir. Since the title cannot be held by two people simultaneously, two daughters (without a brother) who inherit in this way would do so as co-parceners and before they inherit, both would be heirs presumptive. In these circumstances, the title would in fact be held in abeyance until one person represents the claim of both, or the claim is renounced by one or the other for herself and her heirs, or the abeyance is ended by the Crown. There are special procedures for handling doubtful or disputed cases.

[edit] Heirs presumptive as of 2009

• Caroline, Princess of Hanover, is the Heiress Presumptive to the throne of Monaco. If her brother Albert II, Prince of Monaco, fathers a legitimate child, that child would be heir apparent if male or heiress presumptive if female.
• Tupoutoʻa Lavaka (ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho) is the Heir Presumptive to the throne of Tonga; if his brother King George Tupou V fathers a legitimate child, that child would be heir apparent if male or heiress presumptive if female.
• Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck is the Heir Presumptive to the throne of Bhutan. If his brother Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck fathers a legitimate child, that child would be heir apparent if male or heiress presumptive if female.

[edit] Examples of heirs presumptive who inherited thrones

• Queen Mary I of England, who succeeded her half-brother Edward VI in 1553
• Queen Elizabeth I of England, who succeeded her half-sister Mary I in 1558
• King Charles X of Sweden, who succeeded his cousin Christina in 1654
• King James II of England, who succeeded his brother Charles II in 1685
• King William IV of the United Kingdom, who succeeded his brother George IV in 1830
• Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who succeeded her uncle William IV in 1837
• King Oscar II of Sweden, who succeeded his brother Charles XV in 1872
• Albert I, King of the Belgians, who succeeded his uncle Leopold II in 1909
• Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde of Luxembourg, who succeeded her father Guillaume IV in 1912
• Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, who succeeded her sister Marie-Adélaïde in 1919
• King Prajadhipok Rama VII of Thailand, who succeeded his brother Vajiravudh Rama VI in 1925
• King Ananda Rama VIII of Thailand, who succeeded his uncle Prajadhipok in 1935
• King George VI of the United Kingdom, who succeeded his brother Edward VIII in 1936
• King Bhumibol Rama IX of Thailand, who succeeded his brother King Ananda Rama VIII in 1946
• King Paul of Greece, who succeeded his brother George II in 1947
• Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who succeeded her father George VI in 1952
• Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who succeeded her father Frederick IX in 1972
• Albert II, King of the Belgians, who succeeded his brother Baudouin I in 1993

[edit] Examples of heirs presumptive who did not inherit thrones

• Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland was heir-presumptive of Sweden between 1973 and 1979, until the birth of Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, who superseded him.
• Princess Caroline of Orange-Nassau, first child of Willem IV of Orange, was heir presumptive until the birth of her brother Willem V.
• Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders was the heir presumptive of his older brother king Leopold II of Belgium after the death of his nephew Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant until his own death in 1905.
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was the heir presumptive of his uncle Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria until his assassination in Sarajevo.
• Prince Knud of Denmark was the heir presumptive of his brother King Frederick IX of Denmark, but an amendment to the Danish Constitution in 1953 proclaimed King Frederick's eldest daughter Princess Margrethe as the future heir presumptive.

[edit] See also

• Monarchy
• Constitutional Monarchy