Star Wars: Padme Amidala — We Call It “Aggressive Negotiations”
Naboo’s youngest queen ever and one of the galaxy’s loudest voices for good, Padme Amidala is worth falling (to the dark side) for.
First introduced in 1999’s Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Padme Amidala has grown to be one of the fandom’s favorite prequel characters. This queen turned senator is one of the most principled and kind-hearted characters to come out of Star Wars, but remains almost surprisingly strong, resilient, brave, and at times just a little bit of a rule breaker. But how did a fourteen-year-old become Naboo’s queen and the mother of the future Rebellion?
Early Life
Padme was born into the Naberrie family on Naboo in 46 BBY. As a child, Padme traveled with her father often on relief and aid missions to other planets. One of these trips was the attempted relocation of the population of Shadda-Bi-Boran in the wake of an ecological disaster. Ultimately, the mission was a failure, and at a young age, Padme resolved to work as hard as possible to ensure saving even just one person in the future.
Despite being from a modest and generally not political family, Padme was devoted to public service. At eight she joined the Apprentice Legislature, eventually becoming a Junior Senatorial Advisor, and then attended the Theed Royal Academy with a focus on learning to become a political leader. By twelve, she joined the Legislative Youth Program as well as a two-year stint as the supervisor of Naboo’s capital city of Theed.
“So this is how liberty dies; with thunderous applause.”
– Senator Padme Amidala.
Just two years after this, Padme began her campaigning to be Naboo’s next queen, running on a platform of being calm, composed, smart, making meaningful changes for good, and expanding Naboo’s reach to make allies with other planets in their sector. She took on the pseudonym “Amidala” as anonymity was customary for monarchs and candidates. Ultimately, Padme won her election and was notified by her head of security that she was the next queen of Naboo.
Queen of Naboo
After her coronation Padme met her handmaidens, all specifically chosen to look a little like her in order to confuse others. Included was Sabe, her closest bodyguard, and body double. The new queen decided that all of the handmaidens as well as herself should learn the skills and background of the others to further their ability to act and speak alike. This also caused them to bond as lifelong friends.
During Padme’s rule as Queen, the Trade Federation blockaded and attempted to take over Naboo, presenting the Queen with a contract that signed rule of Naboo away while claiming it to be a treaty. Eventually, Jedis Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi come to Naboo’s aid while acting as ambassadors from Coruscant, and with them, Padme and her handmaidens flee Naboo and eventually land on Tatooine.
Here, after swapping places with Sabe, she met a young Anakin Skywalker. After adding him as well as an army of Gungans to their party and speaking before the Senate on Coruscant, Padme returned to Naboo and took back her home from the Trade Federation by force.
Once they successfully fended off the invasion of Naboo, Queen Amidala led the planet’s recovery efforts while rebuilding surpluses and adding an ion pulse cannon to the planet’s surface to protect her people from any future attacks or invasion attempts. This move was ultimately polarizing, with some believing that Naboo needed stronger measures, while others were unhappy to see any weaponry added at all.
Padme as a Senator
After serving two terms as Queen, Padme was ready to move on to other forms of public service. However, the people of Naboo had come to love her, with some pushing to amend the constitution to allow her to run for a third term. The new queen, Reillata, personally asked Amidala to serve as the planet’s representative in the senate, and Padme accepted.
During her time in the Senate, Amidala survived multiple assassination attempts but also made a few key friends, such as senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma. And true to her nature, she nearly immediately went to work trying to make people’s lives better and giving aid to those facing the most hardship.
Ten years after the Invasion of Naboo, the Separatist Alliance rose to power in the galaxy, and Padme opposing the Military Creation Act put a target on her back. In response, the Jedi Council assigned Kenobi and now Padawan Anakin Skywalker to protect Padme. And after not seeing each other for many years, Padme and Anakin quickly reconnected, becoming friends and then much more.
Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker
After working together closely throughout much of the Clone Wars, Padme and Anakin entered into a romantic relationship. But because of the Jedi Council’s rules on emotional attachments, the two had to keep their relationship secret. Eventually, the two were married in a secret wedding on Naboo.
The war and vastly differing schedules and responsibilities kept them apart for long periods of time, so when Padme found out she was pregnant, she had few opportunities to tell Anakin. And when she did, it caused anxiety for the Jedi, giving him nightmares of her death.
Shortly after, Senator Palpatine assumed power of the galaxy and executed Order 66, resulting in the deaths of most of the galaxy’s Jedi and those remaining to go into hiding. When Obi-Wan revealed to Padme that Anakin had turned to the Dark Side, she confronted him for his part in everything. Anakin accused her of betraying him and attacked her.
Two days later a still unconscious Padme gave birth to twins but died shortly after, the medical droid quoting a ‘loss of will to live’ for the reason.
How Did Padme Become Queen at 14?
Padme became a civil servant and began training for a leadership role at the very young age of eight. And like many others in the galaxy, she had small roles in government very young. But Amidala’s election to Queen of Naboo was a big jump from the junior positions she had enjoyed before.
The people of Naboo generally preferred the election of young girls as queen, seeing them as more pure, wise, and having a stronger moral compass than many adults. While Padme at fourteen was younger than many other queens, her age wasn’t entirely unheard of.
Does Padme Really Love Anakin?
Hell yes. You can’t convince me Padme Amidala would ever marry anybody she didn’t truly love for any reason whatsoever.
Why Can’t Anakin and Padme Be Together?
There were a few factors at play here including their age gap as well as Anakin’s role as Padme’s bodyguard. But most importantly Jedi are not supposed to form attachments—such as romantic love and marriage—because these attachments are thought to lead to the Dark Side.
Who Killed Padme?
The official cause of death given by the medical droids was a loss of will to live after Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side. But another factor was likely the injuries sustained at the force-hand of Anakin the last time they met. Another popular theory amongst fans though, is that Palpatine was slowly siphoning Padme’s lifeforce, eventually causing her death. And honestly, anything would be a better explanation than the official one.
I don’t buy it.
May the Force be with you, adventurers!
