Heir Apparent

An heir apparent is one who will in all reasonably foreseeable circumstances, save possibly his/her own death, inherit a title or property. Contrast with heir presumptive.

According to the order of succession of many monarchies, the Heir Apparent is a direct descendant of a monarch who is the heir to their throne, whose status as heir cannot be defeated by the birth of someone else who would then become the heir. An heir apparent differs from an Heir Presumptive in that, although an heir presumptive inherits the throne upon the death of the monarch, the right of the heir presumptive could be defeated by the birth of another person who would then be the heir apparent. For example, in Britain, if the monarch has a daughter and no sons, the daughter is the heiress presumptive, who becomes Queen if the monarch dies. But if the monarch later has a son, the son is then the heir apparent. In most monarchies, the monarch's oldest son, even if not the oldest child, becomes Heir Apparent. A growing number of monarchies, however, now allow the monarch's oldest child, irrespective of sex, to become Heir Apparent. Where that heir has died leaving children, their oldest child (or oldest son) becomes Heir Apparent.

It is an error to call the heir apparent simply the "heir." The heir is the person who currently owns the estate, having inherited it— in this case, the currently reigning monarch.

Titles

Heir apparent is a technical term that is not used as an actual title. The most common title used for heirs apparent in kingdoms is Crown Prince. In the case of full cognatic primogeniture, such as in Sweden, Norway and Belgium, a woman can be heir apparent, and thus Crown Princess.

In monarchies that are not kingdoms, other titles like Hereditary Grand Duke or Hereditary Prince are used in stead.

However, many countries have specially designed titles for the heir apparent. Such titles may be automatically assigned, like Prince of Orange in the Netherlands, or traditionally granted by the monarch, like Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom. A more extensive list of these titles is available in the Crown Prince article.

Examples

• Charles, Prince of Wales is the Heir Apparent of Queen Elizabeth II

• Philippe, Duke of Brabant is the Heir Apparent of King Albert II, King of the Belgians

• Felipe, Prince of Asturias is the Heir Apparent of King Juan Carlos of Spain.

• Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden is the Heiress Apparent of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

• Willem Alexander, Crown Prince of the Netherlands is the Heir Apparent of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

In contrast,

• Albert, Duke of York, the King's brother (and later King George VI) was the Heir Presumptive of King Edward VIII.

• Princess Victoria, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, was heiress presumptive until the birth of her brother, who later became King Edward VII.

• Princess Elizabeth, the oldest daughter of King George VI, was heiress presumptive until her father's death, at which time she became Queen Elizabeth II.