Padmé Amidala

Padmé Amidala
Homeworld	Naboo
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Height	1.65 meters
Hair Color	Brown
Eye Color	Brown
Affiliation	Galactic Republic, Royal Naboo

Padmé Naberrie Amidala, also Her Royal Highness, Queen Amidala of Naboo and later Her Excellency, Senator Amidala of Naboo (46–19 BBY), was the wife of Anakin Skywalker and the mother of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Solo. She was the democratically-elected Queen of Naboo before representing the planet as a Senator in the Galactic Senate.

Biography

Early life (46 BBY–32 BBY)

Prodigiously talented and well-learned, Padmé was still not the youngest Queen of Naboo to ever be elected. Her birth name was Padmé Naberrie, Amidala was actually a Regnal name. In her guise as Queen Amidala, Padmé appeared regal and austere but as Padmé, she was headstrong and compassionate. Amidala played an important role in the last years of the Old Republic.

She was the youngest daughter of Ruwee and Jobal Naberrie and born in an isolated mountain village. Her parents instilled in their children high virtues like self-sacrifice and care for the socially weak. In her youth she volunteered for the Refugee Relief Movement, like her father had before her. Following this, she entered the Legislative Youth Program, where she met a young man named Palo. A brief, innocent relationship followed, but the pair parted ways when Palo became an artist, and Padmé continued in politics.

Her rise was meteoroic—she had joined the Apprentice Legislature at age eight and became a full Apprentice Legislator by age eleven. By 33 BBY, at the age of thirteen, Padmé had become Princess of Theed, where she was a magnet for personalities opposed to the rule of King Veruna. She became involved in a relationship with Ian Lago, the young son of Veruna's chief counsellor. Both families were opposed to the match, but it ended of its own accord when Veruna abdicated and Padmé was persuaded to enter the race to succeed the King. Her personal popularity and opposition to Veruna's policies ensured she won handily and she never saw Ian again.

Queen (32 BBY–24 BBY)

Shortly after being elected Queen in 32 BBY, she tried to use diplomatic and political means to rid her planet from the blockade of the Trade Federation. When this failed, she participated personally in the Battle of Naboo, leading the operation which retook her palace in the city of Theed. During this time, she formed a close friendship with the nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker. She also called for a vote of non-confidence in Chancellor Finis Valorum's leadership in the Galactic Senate. This led to Naboo's Senator Palpatine being elected Chancellor.

In 24 BBY, Amidala ended her second term as Queen. Though some on Naboo suggested amending the constitution to allow her to serve a third term, she gave up the throne to her elected successor, Queen Jamillia. At Jamillia's urging, she became Naboo's representative in the Senate. Surprisingly, given her career change, she retained an elaborate fashion sense and a constantly-changing wardrobe. Soon, she was one of the leaders of a faction opposed to the establishment of an army to quell the growing Separatist movement.

Senator (24 BBY–19 BBY)

After an attempt on her life in 22 BBY, Anakin, now an apprentice, was assigned to protect her. The two fell in love, though both of them were duty-bound to deny it. In the process of rescuing Obi-Wan Kenobi on Geonosis. Padmé had a close encounter with a nexu that ripped the buttom part of her shirt. They became directly involved in the first massed battle of the Clone Wars, where Amidala again showed herself to be rather more handy in combat than might be expected of a politician. Soon afterwards, Anakin and Amidala were married on Naboo, in a secret ceremony attended only by their droids R2-D2 and C-3PO.

With the beginning of hostilities, her message of diplomacy and restraint began to be drowned out by the guns of war. She found herself the target of assassins (due to Nute Gunray's personal grudge) over and over again, forcing her to remain in the capitol world. She rarely saw her secret husband, Anakin Skywalker, who was constantly at the front line, leading clonetroopers with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Padmé maintained a secret correspondence with her husband, and, though she thrilled to his exploits, she also feared for his safety.

Four months into the war Padmé was travelling with Jedi Master Yoda aboard her Naboo yacht. The ancient Jedi sensed a disturbance in the Force, coming from the planet Ilum. Despite Captain Typho's protests, Padmé accompanied Yoda to the world where she assisted in the rescue of the Jedi Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee.

By the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, the now pregnant Padmé became alarmed by the changes in her husband's character as he was seduced by the dark side. On Coruscant, Padmé asked Anakin to tell Palpatine to end the war and give up all the emergency powers the Senate had awarded him, but Anakin would do nothing. Following the declaration of the Galactic Empire and the Great Jedi Purge led by Anakin, Amidala joined with Bail Organa and Mon Mothma to sign the Delegation of 2,000 and document that would later pave the way for the founding of a resistance movement that would eventually become the Rebel Alliance.

Traveling with Obi-Wan Kenobi to the planet Mustafar, she confronted Anakin to try and get him to turn back to Light Side of the Force, but he used a Force choke against her. After Kenobi defeated Anakin, he took Padmé to a medical facility on the asteroid Polis Massa. There, a medical team tried to save Padmé's life. However, after the birth of her twins Luke and Leia, she died comforted by Obi-Wan, telling him that there was still good in Anakin.

Padmé's parents Ruwee and Jobal, sister Sola, and Queen Apailana, were told that Padmé was killed along with other Senators by rogue Jedi on Coruscant. An investigation into who had impregnated her would have gone against Naboo tradition.

Padmé never was noted to have any Force powers, aside from the time she had a Force connection with Anakin right before The Great Jedi Purge.

Shortly before the Battle of Endor during the Galactic Civil War, Luke asked Leia if she remembered her mother at all. Leia remembered her mother's death and described her as "very beautiful, kind, but sad", Luke remarked that he had no memory of Padmé whatsoever. Unbeknownst to Leia, a large painting of her mother still hung in the Imperial Palace even up to the Thrawn Crisis, twenty-eight years after Padmé's death.

A hologram Padmé was briefly seen in a hologram projected by R2-D2 while Luke was fixing him around 35 ABY. R2 showed him Anakin telling her about his dream of her dying in childbirth.

Up until this point, Luke and Leia had been unaware of the identity of their mother, though they were aware of a "Senator Amidala" who served in the final days of the Republic. However, they had no inkling of their relation to her.

Handmaidens

During her tenures as Queen and Senator, Amidala cultivated a coterie of handmaidens, young women of a similar age and with a striking similarity to Padmé. These handmaidens acted as bodyguards, decoys and confidantes to their mistress, roles devised by Amidala's head of security, Captain Panaka.

As Queen, these handmaidens included Sabé, Eirtaé, Rabé, Yané and Saché. During her term as Senator, Padmé's handmaidens included Dormé, Cordé, Versé, Moteé and Ellé.

Behind the scenes

• The role of Padmé was played by Natalie Portman in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith.
• Padmé's first actual appearance in the Star Wars universe was in the comic The Last Command 5, which came out around a year before Episode I. At the time the comic was being made, the decision to cast Natalie Portman as the future mother of the twins had just been made, so the authors of the comic decided to place her likeness in the background. Although this clashes to some extent with the eventual revelation that Leia never knew her mother, The Last Command 5 nonetheless was the first appearance of Padmé in the Star Wars Universe.
• "Padmé" is Sanskrit for "lotus flower," while "Amidala" is the spiritual manifestation.
• In Return of the Jedi, Leia tells Luke she remembered her mother dying when Leia was very young, and described her as very kind, beautiful and sad. Since Padmé dies in Revenge of the Sith while Leia is a newborn, it is not clear how Leia has these memories (it is speculated that Leia felt her mother's sadness through the Force, however this not confirmed; Leland Chee admitted that this inconsistency is not yet addressed in the Holocron continuity database).

Costumes

The costumes designed for this character in The Phantom Menace were widely admired, and were featured in a Vogue magazine spread. Some critics viewed them simply as a marketing ploy to bring more feminine viewers to an action movie, but whether intentional or not, for some viewers, Padmé's costumes were the most memorable part of the film. They also serve an important plot function, as they allow Padmé's handmaidens to impersonate her behind voluminous robes and white makeup.

This listing of the royal gowns of Queen Amidala uses several words created by archaeologist Dr. David Reynolds to imbue the costumes with a sense of imaginative history:

• Throne Room Gown: The most reproduced images of Padmé (see above) are probably ones showing this domestic regalia. Her hair is dressed over a padded form and her face is encircled by gold "faceframes" dangling a Jewel of Zenda. The wide-shouldered gown is embroidered in gold and lined in potolli fur. Large illuminated sein jewels decorate the skirt. The handmaidens wear coordinating golden robes inspired by Art Nouveau.
• Traveling Gown- A dark purple gown with cerlin sleeves, drapa bindings, and a chersilk hair net.
• Arrival Gown: This black, spiderweb lace gown is actually worn by the handmaiden Sabé, but this is not known to other characters in the film nor to first-time viewers. Her face is framed by a black cowl, which is decorated with filigree ear coverings and a headdress of black feathers. It portrays to Chancellor Valorum and Senator Palpatine the majesty and seriousness of her mission upon arrival at the capital world of Coruscant. The handmaidens wear saffron colored robes reminiscent of Buddhist monks.
• Foreign Residence Gown: A black gown, reminiscent of Victorian mourning dress, expresses Padmé's anguish at being separated from her people. Black Cyrene silk is beaded with 240-year old emblems. Her hair is arranged in a fan shape with a prominent foreknot and small suspensas.
• Senate Gown: Clearly derived from the Mongolian bride costume, this embossed red gown is braided with gold, and is meant to portray the majesty of Naboo to the jaded Galactic Senate. To help make her more visible in the vast chamber, Padmé's hair is dressed in a wide arc centered by an escoffiate headpiece and the Royal Sovereign of Naboo medal. Gold hairbands hold the arc in shape, and orichalc finework finials dangle from the ends. Portman was photographed in this costume for Vanity Fair and Premiere magazines.
• Palpatine Gown: When meeting with Naboo's senator, Padmé wears a mauve robe highly reminiscent of a Japanese kimono, with several layers and a wide obi. A Shiraya fan headdress is hung with Veda pearl beading and glass filaments. (The actual costume headdress was cut from a 1910 dress.) The handmaidens wear burgundy purple robes embellished with fleurs-de-lys.
• Parade Gown: A brilliant white gown worn at the end of the film symbolizes Padmé's joy at achieving peace, and echoes the gown worn by her future daughter at the end of the film A New Hope. In both films, the titled leader presents heroes of battle with an honor at the end of a long avenue of people amidst magnificent architecture. Padmé's costume is embellished by a petaled cape that evokes huge flowers near her home village. The flowers only bloom once every 88 years, heralding a special celebration. She also wears an aurate fan which resembles the starched collars worn by England's Queen Elizabeth I as well as the framing fans worn by characters on the Dune miniseries.

Throughout The Phantom Menace, Padmé wears white thumbnail polish, a tradition from her native village, as well as a red Scar of Remembrance dividing her lower lip, and a red beauty mark on each cheekbone.