Sentence:  “Two or three months more went by ; the public were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this semi-exotic <WSD>claimant</WSD> to an English peerage, and sensations, surpassing those of the Tichbourne case, were looked forward to with palpitating interest. […]” 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  One who claims; one who makes a claim.