TheForce.Net - Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia

Amidala, Padme'

Description

Additional Info

Related Entries

Sources

Images

Legend

this native of the planet Naboo was born with the name Padme' Naberrie, and took the royal name Amidala when she was elected Queen. She was just fourteen standard years of age when she was voted into office as the Queen of Naboo. However, she was already a seasoned veteran of the planet's political scene, having served for two years as the ruler of the capital city of Theed. Note that issue 6 of the Star Wars Kids magazine claims Amidala was elected Queen at the age of twelve, not just city leader. She was born to humble parents who live in a remote, mountain village, but quickly became enamored of the glamorous life of the city after visiting with her grandmother, Winama. Although this worried her parents, they also saw that she was quite special, and allowed her to continue her political training. After becoming Queen, she trained under Captain Panaka in the martial arts, and also agreed to use deception when necessary to ensure her safety. To this end, she favored heavy theatrical facepaint and an incredibly ornate wardrobe, but this was mainly for practical purposes. The facepaint and clothing helped mask her true appearance, which closely resembled that of her handmaiden, Sabe'. In times of crisis or danger, Sabe' often took the place of the Queen, while Amidala pretended to be a simple servant using her given name Padme' Naberrie. Shortly after being elected Queen, she was thrust into the galactic forefront during the rise to power of Senator Palpatine and the crisis with the Trade Federation. She showed why she had been elected during the conflict, standing tall against the Neimoidians and traveling to Coruscant to petition her case to the Galactic Senate. However, political maneuvering was outside her scope, and she often deferred to Palpatine's judgement. This led her to fall into Palpatine's plan to discredit Chancellor Valorum, as she felt that the only way to save Naboo was to force Valorum out of office and replace him with a stronger figure. However, her experiences on Tatooine with Shmi and Anakin Skywalker had reduced her faith in the Old Republic anyway, and Valorum's lack of backbone in condemning the Neimoidian invasion only served to support her agreement with Palpatine's plan to remove Valorum from office. During her stay on Coruscant, Amidala realized that Jar Jar Binks - and the Gungans in general - were greatly misunderstood by the Naboo. With Binks' help, she devised a plan to remove the yoke of Neimoidian control. Once her plea had been heard, Amidala returned to Naboo and forged an alliance with the Gungan leader Boss Nass, and together they were able to repel the droid armies of the Trade Federation and free Naboo from its blockade in the climactic Battle of Naboo. Following the completion of her two terms as Queen, Amidala stepped into the role of Senator to the Old Republic. She served Chommell Sector, including Naboo and its 35 neighboring star systems, after Palpatine was elected Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Senator Amidala was one of the loudest voices in opposition to Chancellor Palpatine's call for a military solution to the growing movement toward secession from the Republic, forming the Campaign Against Republic Militarization in an effort to stave off full-scale war. However, two assassination attempts on her life took her back to Naboo, under the safekeeping of a more mature Anakin Skywalker. They then discovered, much to their dismay, that they were falling in love. After surviving the Battle of Geonosis, Padme' and Anakin were married on Naboo, and were forced to keep their marriage a secret from everyone but themselves. The duplicity of their actions took its toll over time, as Anakin became more and more angry about having to hide their relationship. This anger spread to other aspects of Anakin's life, and Padme' began to see him slipping toward the Dark Side of the Force. She eventually confided in Obi-Wan Kenobi about her marriage, shortly after telling Anakin that she was pregnant with their first child. Obi-Wan agreed to help, but asked Padme' to try and keep Anakin from falling any further. In the wake of the First Battle of Coruscant, Anakin confided in her that he had done something terrible, and that he was going to travel to to Mustafar to destroy the Council of Separatists. Anakin said that it would finally bring them the peace the galaxy needed. Padme' was distraught enough to follow Anakin, hoping to prevent any further violence or change in Anakin. Obi-Wan took the opportunity to stow away aboard her ship, in an effort to bring Anakin to justice. When Anakin discovered Padme', and then Obi-Wan, had followed him, he immediately became angry and jealous. Grabbing Padme' by the neck, he accused them of plotting against him. Anakin and Obi-Wan shouted at each other, with Obi-Wanb trying to explain that he was not involved with Padme', just worried about them. Anakin refused to believe them, and tossed Padme' aside in order to confront his former Master. Padme' was then taken back aboard her ship by C-3PO, and Obi-Wan later returned to take them back to Coruscant after defeating Anakin. After landing at Polis Massa, Padme' was rushed to a medical facility, where it was discovered that she was physically fine, but was nonetheless dying. It was also discovered that she was pregnant with twins, who were removed from her womb just before she died, seemingly from a broken heart. In order to ensure that the twins grew up in secrecy, Padme's body was returned to her family on Naboo, but was made to appear still pregnant. All that was said of her death was that she died at the hands of the Jedi. In following with Naboo tradition, the identity of the father was not revealed, as an investigation would only serve to blemish her reputation. Note that the Star Wars: Episode III Visual Dictionary indicates that Padme's family was not told of the pregnancy.