identical to the designation for a "Crown Prince." This has been taken to mean that Horemheb was the openly recognised heir to Tutankhamun's throne, and not Ay, Tutankhamun's immediate successor. On the other hand, more recent assessment of the titulary has translated iry-pat as "Executive" and attaches a less specific and exceptional importance to the title. The Dutch Egyptologist Jacobus Van Dijk observes:

Nozomu Kawai, however, rejects Van Dijk's interpretation that Tutankhamun had nominated