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I can guess the genuine answer for this is “the prequels make no sense”, however I'm wondering if there's an in-universe answer.

At the end of Revenge of the Sith we see Luke get sent to his step uncle, and Leia adopted by the first person to put their hand up to have her. (A politician who no-one ran any background checks on, and no alarm bells were going off!)

I have a few problems with this. On the surface Leia got the best deal out of this, a life of luxury and space travel, whereas poor Luke got stuck in a desert, not allowed to join the academy and drinking blue milk.

Obviously it makes sense to split the two children, but did Padmé not have any family one of them could have gone with? She obviously had the family villa in Italy and seemed very well-respected and loved by her fellow Nabooians, hence the rather large funeral.

I can't believe her friends/family didn't know she was pregnant, or that with Coruscant’s fantastic medical care, questions weren't raised about whether children survived. (Cue a rather well-off angry old Naboo couple starting an investigation to find their missing grandchild, claiming it's a conspiracy).

So I suppose a TL/DR: did Padmé have any family? If yes, why didn’t one of the children go with them?

Paul D. Waite
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Crazy Dino
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    Quick note, padme still looked pregnant at her funeral. I think they stuffed her like a turkey to make it look like she was still pregnant and her babies had died –  Jan 14 '16 at 10:06
  • It's been a long while since I thought the prequels but shall update my question. – Crazy Dino Jan 14 '16 at 10:06
  • Hopefully it will be a long time till you have to watch them again –  Jan 14 '16 at 10:07
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    that would be briliant. lets hide a child the first place anybody would look. just briliant! – Cherubel Jan 14 '16 at 10:15
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    However as @AncalagonTheBlack pointed out she looked pregnant at death. IIRC Vader is unaware his offspring survived, and surely the nearest he has to family on Tatooine would be just as obvious in that case anyway. – Crazy Dino Jan 14 '16 at 10:22
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    Deleted scene - Padme's Family - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK8kosNqKyw – Valorum Jan 14 '16 at 10:30
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    @CrazyDino, yes but since that farm is the very place where Shmi lies buried, Vader avoids the place like the plague (presumably to avoid being reminded once again about how weak he used to be when he was just Anakin). He doesn't even go planetside to look for the Death Star plans himself, whereas usually he is more an on-scene commander (at least after the initial fighting is done and a foothold has been established, as seen with the boarding party on Tantive IV or the Hoth Base). – BMWurm Jan 14 '16 at 10:50
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    “with Coruscant’s fantastic medical care, questions weren't raised about whether children survived” — Coruscant’s fantastic medical care apparently couldn’t even figure out that she was carrying twins! – Paul D. Waite Jan 14 '16 at 10:57
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    @PaulD.Waite ... nor could the oh so living-force-sensing Jedi detect there were three consciousnesses (?) in there (although Yoda might have sensed it, his expression is hard to judge). Worst of all: Anakin didn't sense it, or Vader was a reeaalllly good actor when he played out the "I just discovered you now have finally learned that you have a twin sister, so I can at last use that fact to lure you to the Dark Side" thing with Luke on the DS2!! – BMWurm Jan 14 '16 at 11:26
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    Does her husband count? – corsiKa Jan 14 '16 at 20:50
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    "A politician who no-one ran any background checks on, and no alarm bells were going off!" This guy was opposed to Palpatine's rise to power very early on and was on the same ship as two of the very few surviving Jedi (who had each just fought Darth Sidious and Vader) and Padme's children. If he wanted to out them and the children, there wasn't a whole lot they could do. Plus this guy was basically one of the founding members of the Rebellion. – jpmc26 Jan 15 '16 at 04:31
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    "padme still looked pregnant at her funeral" those of us who have given birth remember the dismay at having the brand new baby and the fat flabby stomach was still there. It takes a while to go away. – RedSonja Jan 15 '16 at 07:05
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    @AncalagonTheBlack "I think they stuffed Padme like a turkey". I lol. You made my day. – Raymond Chenon Jan 15 '16 at 11:13
  • @RedSonja my other half was the opposite she was devestated when hers started to vanish – Cearon O'Flynn Jan 15 '16 at 11:13
  • @jpmc26 I was purposefully being facetious and it was more the fact he was a politician! – Crazy Dino Jan 15 '16 at 11:21
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    @PaulD.Waite in fairness child birth was probably poorly understood due to there being fewer than ten known women. – PStag Jan 15 '16 at 20:41
  • Useful to the discussion: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/7943/was-padm%C3%A9-made-to-still-appear-pregnant-for-her-funeral – TheIronCheek Jul 15 '16 at 16:01
  • Yes. Her family used to have a Villa on lake Como. Posh people. – Duncan Drake Dec 07 '22 at 10:02

5 Answers5

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Although most of what has been written about these characters' back story is not canon, they do however exist in canon. Padme's parents are Jobal Naberrie and Ruwee Naberrie.

Padme changed her name to Amidala when she became Queen, and thanks to scott.korin's comment it appears that this is a tradition.

According to the novelization, the Organas were struggling to have a child at the time of Padme's death. It appears that they were blessed to adopt her:

“I can …” Bail Organa stopped, flushing slightly. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Masters; I know little about the Force, but I do know something of love. The Queen and I-well, we’ve always talked of adopting a girl. If you have no objection, I would like to take Leia to Alderaan, and raise her as our daughter. She would be loved with us.”

Yoda and Obi-Wan exchanged a look. Yoda tilted his head. “No happier fate could any child ask for. With our blessing, and that of the Force, let Leia be your child.”

So it seems that the remaining Jedi council were principally responsible for the fate of Luke and Leia, which is understandable because they were likely huge targets for the Empire should it become common knowledge. It's possible that the Jedi had chosen the safest possible places for each child, and the Naberries didn't have the necessary environment to be able to protect either of them (although this last bit is pure conjecture based on my own thoughts).

Discussion in this other question suggests that it was actually the purpose of the Jedi to place Leia in a position where she could be aligned with the Empire, but very easily be "activated" at a later date, even if it didn't happen per se.

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John Bell
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  • I believe each queen changes her name when she becomes queen. But I don't have a source for this. The Databanks just seem to infer this is tradition. http://www.starwars.com/databank/padm-amidala-biography-gallery – scott.korin Jan 14 '16 at 13:50
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    Edited my answer to include this and credited you. Thanks. – John Bell Jan 14 '16 at 14:17
  • I always found that line weird "always talked of adopting a girl", like, doesn't he know there's a much easier alternative to adoption? – Kevin Jan 14 '16 at 15:37
  • The link you provided is broken. – Thunderforge Jan 14 '16 at 15:51
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    @Kevin Perhaps one of them is infertile. I'm sure real world families struggling to conceive would be glad to hear how easy to think it is. – Azor Ahai -him- Jan 14 '16 at 20:17
  • @Azor-Ahai I get that, but if that were the case they could've elaborated further on it. Since they didn't, this line is just weird to me. Its like they're saying "There's more to this guy's story, but we're not gonna bother you with that". – Kevin Jan 15 '16 at 07:32
  • It wasn't broken earlier. Very strange! – John Bell Jan 15 '16 at 08:51
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    @Kevin maybe Bail didn't feel comfortable telling two people that he wasn't that close to intimate details on his or his wife's fertility? – Cearon O'Flynn Jan 15 '16 at 11:16
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    "A rocky place where your seed can find no purchase, her womb is." - Yoda – mxyzplk Jan 15 '16 at 14:57
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Padme Amidala was born Padme Nabberie. House Naberrie is a proeminent family of Naboo, mainly involved in public service. Here her family tree :

enter image description here

Source: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/House_Naberrie

Saphirel
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    Hmm... An interesting point of note there. It appears that on Naboo, family names are matriarchal (passed down from the mother). Had she survived, would Like have been Luke Amidala rather than Skywalker? – Theo Brinkman Jan 15 '16 at 20:58
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    @TheoBrinkman Leia and Luke took their adoptive family's name. Leia Skywalker is Leia Organa, cause she was adopted by family organa. Luke went to Anakin's family, so he became Luke Skywalker :) – Saphirel Jan 16 '16 at 00:11
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    Actually, Leia took her adopted family's name, but Luke went to the Lars family. (Specifically, to Anakin's half-brother, Owen Lars.) – Theo Brinkman Jan 16 '16 at 05:41
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    Doesn't quite have the same ring to it. "Luke Lars". Sounds like a 70s porn star. – John Bell Jan 16 '16 at 09:07
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    Quite right... Just missed the porn-stache. Oh. Wait. Thanks Internet : https://i.ytimg.com/vi/x_IfmO3mu2M/hqdefault.jpg – Saphirel Jan 17 '16 at 23:12
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As to whether Padmé had a family, the answer is a firm yes.

Her parents and family are mentioned in both the Attack of the Clones novelisation and the original film script.

“No, but I-” the distracted Anakin started to answer, but he was interrupted by the squeals of two little girls, running out from the yard toward his companion.

“Aunt Padmé! Aunt Padmé!”

Padmé’s smile went as wide as Anakin had ever seen it and she rushed ahead, bending low to scoop the pair, who looked to be no more than a few years old, one a bit taller than the other, into her arms. One had hair short and blond and curly, the other, the older of the two, had hair that resembled Padmé's.

“Ryoo! Pooja!” Padmé cried, hugging them and twirling them about. “I’m so happy to see you!” She kissed them both and set them down, then took them by the hand and led them toward Anakin.

and

Not exactly like Padmé, Anakin noted. She was a little older, a little heavier, and a little more… worn, was the only word he could think of. But not in a bad way. Yes, he could see it now, he thought, watching as she and Padmé hugged tightly. This was whom Padmé could become-more settled, more content, perhaps. Considering the amazing resemblance, Anakin was hardly surprised when Padmé introduced the woman as her sister, Sola.

“Mom and Dad will be so happy to see you,” Sola said to Padmé. “It’s been a difficult few weeks.”

and

The next introductions were a bit more uncomfortable, but only for a moment, as Padmé showed Anakin to Ruwee, her father, a strong-shouldered man with a face that was plain and strong and compassionate all at once. He wore his brown hair short, but still it was a bit out of place, a bit… comfortable. Padmé introduced Jobal next, and Anakin knew that the woman was her mother without being told. The moment he met her, he understood where Padmé had gotten her innocent and sincere smile, a look that could disarm a mob of bloodthirsty Gamorrean raiders. Jobal’s face had that same comforting quality, that same obvious generosity.

There were even scenes filmed (that were ultimately deleted) in which we meet her extended family and learn more about Padmé's midriff household.

(timestamps 09:01 and 05:01 are especially illuminating)

When it comes to the question of why her family didn't come looking for her children, the simplest answer is that after her death, her corpse was arranged to look like she was still pregnant. According to the Star Wars Episode III: Visual Dictionary, her parents and sister were informed of her death but no further investigation (or official autopsy) was carried out on the planet due to Naboobian tradition.

enter image description here

Valorum
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    We also learn that her boots contain cushioned inserts, but that's mainly because I couldn't be bothered to crop the image properly. – Valorum Jan 14 '16 at 21:36
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    Why are these not (all) in the shiny new Blu-Ray set I bought? Hrmpf. – Raphael Jan 14 '16 at 23:13
  • @Raphael - You should have coined out for the special edition bluray. It came in a box-set with about six other disks filled with crap. – Valorum Jan 14 '16 at 23:18
  • I have a 9-disk box. I didn't think to look for more. Well, d'uh. Now I have some of the interesting material, and a bunch of other stuff. – Raphael Jan 14 '16 at 23:20
  • Per the Ep III novelization, you're right. Padme's body was prepped to look like she was still pregnant. http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/7943/was-padm%C3%A9-made-to-still-appear-pregnant-for-her-funeral – TheIronCheek Jul 15 '16 at 16:03
  • With a quote from the novelization (found in the question I just linked), this would be a far better answer than the one accepted. – TheIronCheek Jul 15 '16 at 16:04
  • @TheIronCheek - Yes, I recall meaning to add some in. See edits. – Valorum Jul 15 '16 at 16:13
  • I've just noticed that the Visual Dictionary mixes up Padmé's sister (Sola) for her father (Jobal). – Valorum Jul 15 '16 at 16:15
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In the DVD extras (you can find some compilations like "15 minutes you did not know exist in Episode X") there are lengthy scenes about Anakin's visit to Padme's family as a Jedi bodyguard and suspect-boyfriend.

I guess, given the circumstances of her death, it was not hard to announce (or Force-convince) that the child died and was lost on the volcano planet... not sure if anyone knew twins were underway, and records (if any) might be altered. It might be announced a miracle that HER body was found and recovered so as to bury something. In military tradition, might as well be an empty zinc box.

Jim Klimov
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Sending Luke or Leia to Padme's family would have aroused more suspicion as to their true identity than to a stranger. They were lucky Vader did not suspect that his children might have survived (especially as Padme had a public funeral). I have thought that sending Luke to his family was dangerous, but that would still not have been noticeable to the wider empire due to their low profile and weak ties to Vader.

PStag
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