Padmé Amidala’s funeral. It was a bittersweet moment that had to happen to avoid a retcon. Remember when Leia and Luke are talking on Endor in Return of the Jedi, and the Jedi Knight asks the Princess of Alderaan about her birth mother, and then, a moment later, Leia learns she and Luke are twins? Yeah, it hits you right in the feels.
Welcome to Behind-the-Scenes, a new Star Wars post-series about specific scenes in the galaxy far away. We decided to begin with Padmé’s funeral because there is much we’ve learned since Revenge of the Sith, and we have Tales of the Jedi to thank for that.
The Meaning Behind The Funeral Of Padmé Amidala
Outside of being a state funeral for Padmé, the scene in Revenge of the Sith and, by extension, Tales of the Jedi has several meanings.
The first is that the farewelling of a beloved figure gone too soon shows people stood by Padmé, even after her tenure as Queen ended. For thousands of people to line the streets to say goodbye to their former monarch instils how much of an impact she had on Naboo.
Meaning two is less literal as it is invisible to most people, and that is the secret that Padmé’s corpse holds. She is not pregnant when laid to rest. Her body is made to look like it was to protect her newborn twins from the Empire.
Very few individuals in the senator’s social circle knew she was pregnant or had given birth. For those who knew she was expecting, no one knew who the father was except those present at the birthing. More of that later. The secret of her marriage was hidden in plain sight. She held the Japor Snippet Anakin gave her as a child. Moreover, this shows she did love her husband, even in death, despite knowing their union was doomed to fail.
Who Attended The Funeral?
While the scene is only brief, we get a pretty good representation of who was present during the Revenge of the Sith version of the scene.
We had Padmé’s family consisting of:
Padmé’s parents, Ruwee (her father) and Jobal (her mother) were always concerned about their youngest daughter’s chosen career path. So naturally, they wanted her to entertain a safer job, but they tolerated it for her sake.
Sola, Padmé’s older sister, had at least one daughter, Ryoo. In Legends material, she had two daughters, Ryoo being the most senior and Pooja, a relative in canon but not specified as Sola’s second daughter. Also, the Legends version of Pooja became a senator for Naboo in adulthood and served alongside Leia. The two became friends but were unaware for the longest time that they were cousins, given their mothers were sisters.
The Gungans
Padmé was close to Jar Jar Binks as Queen of Naboo and then as a senator. He often served as a senate representative when she could not be in person. Finally, after years of being on opposite ends of the divide, Amidala allowed the Naboo people to have a relationship with the Gungans.
Boss Nass was the one who received the Orb of Peace from Padmé at the end of The Phantom Menace.
Queen Apailana, Advisors And Former Handmaidens
One of Padmé’s successors in the role of Queen of Naboo was Apailana. She was the fourth young woman to be Queen after Amidala.
Many of the handmaidens who served Padmé for years were also present. One of the more notable ones was Sabé, referenced in E.K. Johnston’s book, Queen’s Shadow. Other former advisors who served Amidala while she was Queen were also there to pay their respects. As you can see in the photo above, Sio Bibble was also in attendance.
Friends And Colleagues
Tales of the Jedi reveals that Ahsoka Tano, Anakin’s former Padawan and Senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma were all present at the funeral. At this point in the story, Tano and Organa are both aware of Amidala and Skywalker’s relationship.
Bail had already adopted Leia though Ahsoka didn’t know about her or Luke until years later. Tano watched Luke train the adoptive son of Din Djarin, Grogu, and indirectly mentioned how much he reminded her of his father.
Ahsoka and Bail were near each other at Padmé’s funeral, which is why Organa could track the former Padawan down relevantly quickly. It is unclear how much Mon was aware of regarding the twins. However, she did work alongside Leia in the rebellion after Bail’s death. Luke was also present during this time, but whether Mothma put two and two together is unclear.
Facts
- In canon, Pooja Naberrie is currently not confirmed to be Padmé’s second niece.
- The actress who played Queen Apailana, Keisha Castle-Hughes, was only 13 when she filmed her only scene in Revenge of the Sith, which took only a day to shoot.
- Apailana’s appearance is foreshadowed in RotS early in the film. After Anakin is awakened by his vision of his wife’s death, Padmé mentions the Queen and the repercussions that could be thrown at her if the marriage is made public.
- Ahsoka’s appearance at Padmé’s funeral in Tales of the Jedi is a distant foreshadowing of her trying to do what Padmé couldn’t; bring Anakin back to the light side, as seen in the Star War Rebels episode, “Twilight of the Apprentice.” However, she, too, would fail. Obi-Wan tried before her attempt, as seen in the finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi but gave up hope of ever seeing his friend return.
