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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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  • 26
    If memory serves the queens/kings have all been elected for a certain period of time as representative?
    – Philip Klöcking
    Jan 18 '16 at 8:56
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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 8:57
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    Which makes the fact that she is 14 in TPM totally explicable, naturally.
    – Daniel Roseman
    Jan 18 '16 at 8:57
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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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    No, but I believe Leia is entitled to become the Queen of Aldera...Oh wait, Nevermind.
    – pinkfloydx33
    Jan 18 '16 at 18:45
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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.

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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 9:33
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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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    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 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
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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
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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.

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    In Legends cannon Cloak of Deception there was a King Veruna that was the king before Padme was queen.
    – Cearon O'Flynn
    Jan 18 '16 at 15:21
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    @CearonO'Flynn Legends Smegends, that's what I say.
    – Jack B Nimble
    Jan 18 '16 at 15:28
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    I know just thought I would say that there has been Legends of a King of Naboo. Also one of the towers of the palace on Naboo is named as Veruna's tower, cannot see if this is in a visual dictionary or anything which could make his existence a bit more than Legend
    – Cearon O'Flynn
    Jan 18 '16 at 15:31
  • Is this a direct quote? I ask because "[...]which resulted into the defeat of the Empire [...]" is a typo.
    – TylerH
    Jan 18 '16 at 17:14
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    @TylerH No, I'll fix it and the reference.
    – Jack B Nimble
    Jan 18 '16 at 17:26
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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.

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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

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