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The last known queen of Naboo was Padmé, who died in childbirth at the end of the Clone Wars. She gave birth to twins, and Luke was born just before his sister Leia.

If the line of inheritance works the same way in the galaxy far, far away as it does in most earthly monarchies, this would leave Luke next in line for the throne.

Is Luke entitled to claim the crown and become King of Naboo?

Note: I'm not asking if he would actually make such a claim, nor am I asking whether the Jedi Code would allow for a Jedi to be a king as well — I'm only interested in the issue of whether Naboo's laws would allow Luke to claim the throne, all other considerations notwithstanding.

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Wad Cheber
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    If memory serves the queens/kings have all been elected for a certain period of time as representative? – Philip Klöcking Jan 18 '16 at 08:56
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    The position of king/queen is an elected one on Naboo. You serve for a maximum of two terms of 4 years. – Valorum Jan 18 '16 at 08:57
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    Which makes the fact that she is 14 in TPM totally explicable, naturally. – Daniel Roseman Jan 18 '16 at 08:57
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    @DanielRoseman: Hey, she's been a pretty girl, hasn't she? And lookalikes are so easy to get: most look the same at this age, anyway! – Philip Klöcking Jan 18 '16 at 09:00
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    Just to point out Queen Jamillia was the last known queen of Naboo, she was elected after Padme finished her term – Cearon O'Flynn Jan 18 '16 at 10:08
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    @DanielRoseman This is what happens when you give gungans the vote. – Comic Sans Seraphim Jan 18 '16 at 10:19
  • Worth mentioning that the son of Darth Vader might not be well-thought-of, so keeping his family history a secret might be in his best interests. I'm sure lots of people (including plenty of force users) would want revenge for his many misdeeds. – PointlessSpike Jan 18 '16 at 10:49
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    @CearonO'Flynn Second that. During her term as Senator, Padmé was not a queen. Jamillia was elected to office after her. – Mindwin Remember Monica Jan 18 '16 at 13:19
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    As Cearon said, your question is based on a false premise. Padmé was not the last known queen of Naboo; when she died, she was a Senator, not the queen. We know of at least two queens after her, and have no reason to believe that the Naboo didn't keep electing new rulers every few years, same as they did while Padmé was alive. – Martha Jan 18 '16 at 16:14
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    No, but I believe Leia is entitled to become the Queen of Aldera...Oh wait, Nevermind. – pinkfloydx33 Jan 18 '16 at 18:45
  • So Luke cannot become the king, but maybe he can inherit the senator title from his mother? I mean, if they elect their queens, who knows how they choose their senators - maybe those titles are inherited? – oliver Jan 19 '16 at 13:18

3 Answers3

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No. Naboo has an elective monarchy- the leader is elected, as is stated multiple times in the prequels. Genetics do not give them the right to rule. To prove this here are some quotes from the script:

Episode 1, Palpatine:

To state our allegations, I present Queen Amidala, the recently elected ruler of Naboo, to speak on our behalf.

Episode 2, Amidala:

I never thought of running for elected office. But the more history I studied, the more I realized how much good politicians could do. So when I was eight, I joined the “Apprentice Legislators,” then later on became a Senatorial advisor, with such a passion that, before I knew it, I was elected Queen. Partly because I scored so high on my education certificate, but for the most part it was my conviction that reform was possible. I wasn’t the youngest Queen ever elected, but now that I think back on it, I’m not sure I was old enough. I’m not sure I was ready.

It's easy to assume she's part of the traditional Earth form of monarchy, but actually she's more like a President or Prime Minister to us. So Luke's not a prince, just an ordinary guy with an awesome family tree. Leia's only a princess because of her adoptive parents on Alderaan- her people are actually all dead.

PointlessSpike
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    I can see where the "elected" part comes from, with all those quotes... but where does the "monarchy" part of elected monarchy come from? Only certain bloodlines can run? Only those with priestly backing, or other omens, for the 'divine right'? [is confused] – Megha Jan 18 '16 at 09:26
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    A number of elective monarchies existed in our own history. Sometimes candidates were restricted by family, religion, or other criteria. In other cases, the kingship was theoretically open to anyone; but you needed a strong reputation, and plenty of money and followers, to have a serious chance of winning (much like running for President of the USA today). – Royal Canadian Bandit Jan 18 '16 at 09:33
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    @Megha the "monarchy" part comes from the fact that there is a single ruler (mono = ~one + arch = ~govern), as opposed to decision making implemented by councils, parliaments, popular vote, etc. There can be hereditary monarchy (which was so common that when people simply say "monarchy" they typically do mean "hereditary monarchy"), elective monarchy or a number of other exotic ways e.g. Tibet Ganden Phodrang regime under earlier Dalai Lamas can be considered as an interesting from of non-hereditary, non-elective monarchy. – Peteris Jan 18 '16 at 11:22
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    @Peteris - Thank you! I guess the term "monarchy" is more widely used than I thought... for some reason I thought there was a different generic term for leader, and monarchy was specialized, but looks like it's the other way around. Nevermind, I got it now. – Megha Jan 18 '16 at 11:36
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    I would guess this was Lucas wanting to keep the fairy-tale element of royalty while also keeping Padme's character able to legitimately fight for democracy. – GeoffAtkins Jan 18 '16 at 11:52
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    @GeoffAtkins - not to mention that he may have considered the fact that a hereditary monarchy could make Luke king, so making it democratic was a neat way to dodge that. – Jon Story Jan 18 '16 at 16:34
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    Leia was still a Princess though. Bear in mind that this is more about Lucas' approach to storytelling and character development more than anything. – GeoffAtkins Jan 18 '16 at 16:35
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    @GeoffAtkins Leia's title came from being the adopted daughter of Queen Breha Organa and Prince Consort Bail Organa.

    The notion that Luke could inherit Padme/Amidala's crown is analogous to George W. Bush or John Quincy Adams thinking they could inherit the Presidency from their fathers, rather than being elected in their own right. And since Luke wasn't born on Naboo, there might be some Birthers claim he isn't eligible to even run for the job.

     – Monty Harder Jan 18 '16 at 20:15
  • I think at some point (probably in episode 2) it is mentioned that she is no longer queen and that some people would have liked the laws changed such that she could be elected again. – kasperd Jan 19 '16 at 07:33
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    @Royal: in any case it probably makes more sense to approach the problem as, "why does Naboo use the title 'Queen' for its elected head of state?" rather than "how does an elected monarchy work?". Naboo works however it's written to work, with very little regard to what forms of elected monarchy have existed on Earth :-) – Steve Jessop Jan 19 '16 at 11:46
  • The conversation I had in mind was this. Padme: I wasn't the youngest queen ever elected... but now that I think back on it, I'm not sure I was old enough. I'm not sure I was ready.

    Anakin: The people you served though you did a good job. I heard they even tried to amend the constitution so you could stay in office.

    Padme: I was relieved when my two terms were up.

     – kasperd Jan 22 '16 at 22:14
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No he isn't entitled to anything. And whether Luke could be elected or not is in question. For one thing, there has never been any mention of a King of Naboo. The three accounts we know about are all women serving as Queen.

  1. Queen Amadala

  2. In the Clone Wars episode "Crisis On Naboo," when Supreme Chancellor Palpatine returns to Naboo for the Festival of Lights, he is greeted by Senator Amadala and the current Queen of Naboo.

  3. Some twenty days after the Battle of Endor—which resulted in the defeat of the Empire by the Alliance to Restore the Republic—the Royal House of Naboo received the visit of Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, who had been sent by Mon Mothma, Chancellor of the Alliance. In the royal palace's throne room, Organa met the then-Queen of Naboo, Sosha Soruna, and asked for Naboo's support in the establishment of a New Republic and the restoration of the Senate. The queen heartily accepted Organa's offer, claiming that the Naboo felt great shame over Palpatine's actions. - Wookieepedia - Naboo (attributed to - Star Wars: Shattered Empire II)

Luke may be disqualified from being elected by virtue of being a male.

Jack B Nimble
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Technically Luke could become King. Although they elect kings/queens, they are elected from The Royal House of Naboo. See link below: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Royal_House_of_Naboo/Legends

The Royal House of Naboo is made up of many noble families including House Naberrie so he is eligible but they would have to elect him.

VLAS4
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    This doesn't answer the question of whether he can claim the throne as his birthright. – Valorum Nov 12 '17 at 11:47
  • @Valorum Technically the question doesn't mention birthrights - it only asks whether he's entitled to claim the throne (whether as the only eligible inheritor or in any other way). – Rand al'Thor Nov 12 '17 at 12:51
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    "Claiming" the crown implies birthright. How else could it be interpreted? – Valorum Nov 12 '17 at 12:56