heir presumptive noun1 •Someone who will become an heir (usually to a monarchy) only if no-one with a higher-ranking claim is born.I am quite aware that your premature decease would leave me heir-presumptive to the title- ”Heir-presumptive? . . . Oh, I see. My mother might peg out and my father marry again. Calculating brute.” — 1935 formsheirs presumptive
