The Monarchies Of 'Star Wars'
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Star Wars is a world of contrasts. For a galaxy dominated by a democratic system for so much of its history, monarchies remain surprisingly common. Some of these are constitutional monarchies or elective monarchies, where the power of royalty is constrained, but many more appear to be absolute monarchies, which fits well with the science fiction inspirations Star Wars has had since its inception.
However, Star Wars still shows a diverse array of monarchies and their attitudes to power. CultureSlate is going to explore some of these dynamics today, and pull from examples across the current Star Wars timeline.
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The Victims
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Royalty doesn’t always guarantee you safety. Despite the wealth, status, traditions, there is always a bigger fish, especially in a universe like Star Wars where the rulers of one planet are rarely the only power in their sector of the galaxy. The Galactic Empire is a noted power who would use or turn against monarchs if they did not fully support the Empire’s agenda. Sometimes, the royals did support the Empire, but were still deemed expendable and were killed along with their people. Such was the horrific fate of the Geonosian Queens. Perhaps millions of this species were wiped out when construction of the Death Star was moved out of orbit of their planet, and their use as a workforce came to an end.
This great tragedy was further perpetuated when Darth Vader returned to Geonosis and stole a droid factory womb from a maddened, sterile, Geonosian Queen, once again robbing the traumatized species any ability to continue their society, even if it was in a mechanical form. There are also cases like Her Majesty from the Anoat sector, the leader of a royal dynasty who stood against the Empire and was so intensely pursued that she erased her own name to instead be spoken of only using a royal title.
The Empire’s successors, the First Order, had an even harsher line of thinking. As an example, the Rebel Alliance had once had a base on the world of Aeos Prime, which was known to the First Order. They sent a mission to ensure the Resistance was not making use of it some 30 years after the Galactic Civil War. The Aeosians fought against this aggressive intrusion, and later formed an alliance with the Colossus for mutual aid. When the First Order returned and attacked the Colossus, the Aeosians helped defeat the Order’s forces, all of this led by their unnamed Queen. However, some time later, a vast fleet of First Order vessels dropped out of orbit above Aeos and intensely bombarded the site of their previous loss to make an example out of the planet. One can only imagine the losses the Aeosians suffered, or the fate of their Queen in the face of such a horrific, yet detached, extermination.
The Compassionates
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Despite the next two categories of our discussion, we do have royal lineages that stand for justice, peace, and the rights of all. The greatest representatives in this category are the leaders of Alderaan, specifically Queen Breha and her consort Bail, right alongside their adopted daughter, Leia of House Organa. We see repeatedly, across many pieces of media, how much these three figures care about the galaxy, opening their work to refugees, providing aid and supplies to those in need, and putting their lives on the line in the fight against tyranny. Even if they acted the part of being loyal to the Empire, and they made sad sacrifices to that goal, their overwhelming dedication to good shows their true status as compassionate leaders.
We also have the elected rulers of Naboo to consider. Queens like Amidala may have been regal and devious of obvious emotion while performing her duties within the royal court, but she was a woman deeply driven to reduce suffering, to bring people together, and to support a healthy democratic system. Later Queens of Naboo followed her example (either on purpose or in spirit), even when the Empire drastically reduced their political power. For instance, Queen Dalné tried to protect the rights of workers on Naboo’s moon, while Queen Sosha Soruna fought alongside Leia Organa to protect her world from the Empire’s attempt to target Naboo as part of Operation Cinder.
The Collaborators
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Standing as opposites to the compassionate voices are those whose compassion is either limited to their own small circle of people that matter, or is completely dictated by the forces that they are in alliance with. This group can have overlap with our last category, self-interested royals, but we would say are distinct due to the loyalty they show to terrible figures or organizations despite everything. One of the clearest examples of this would be Queen Trios of Shu-Toran. Looking to save her world from the Empire’s wrath, she worked with Darth Vader in a plan to destroy the Rebel Alliance.
She faked betrayal to the Empire, befriending Princess Leia, before leaving the Rebels to die in a terrible trap she helped arrange at the Battle of Mako-Ta. She would sacrifice the hope of the galaxy, both for her own survival and the survival of her people, despite how her world’s industrial output was of key importance to the Empire. Indeed, it was these foundries the Rebels later sabotaged to strike back against her. Thousands of people fighting for freedom, hope, and liberty died because of her deceit, alongside dozens of her own people. While she did this under duress, there was still a harshness to Trios, and a cruel determination to see her mission out.
The Self-Interested
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Lastly, there are the corrupt royals, the figures who truly only care about themselves and their own goals as opposed to those they rule, or the advice from others in their circle of advisors. These can be haughty, vain and out of touch leaders, or actively cruel, malicious figures, both of which only care about where their money comes from when it stops flowing in. As a more harmless example of this pattern, we have people like Dafne and Pychor Vuundir from Young Jedi Adventures, who do very little to aid their subjects despite the deference shown to them by those they rule.
Then we have people like King Grevoth Prana IX, a pompous figure who had an obsession with exotic creatures in a competition with another royal. He’s the one who hired Han and his crew to acquire Rathtars, which resulted in everyone except Han and Chewbacca dying. While we know little of the systems Prana ruled over, it is likely they were not worlds whose prosperity went to its people. Lastly, we have royals like the Yarbua family, who ruled over Kessel and allowed criminal organizations like the Pykes to mercilessly strip half their planet for its resources, and import thousands upon thousands of slaves to work their mines. Such an agreement likely continued during the reign of the Empire, and shows the depths of casual cruelty monarchs can sometimes show toward others.
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