Padmé Amidala: Unwed Mother?
Rumours of a hidden baby bump circulated the tabloids for weeks before her untimely demise. However, it is only when watching her funeral procession that the evidence becomes abundantly clear: Senator Amidala was pregnant at the time of her death. In a simple blue gown, her rounded belly showed in a manner she was no longer able to conceal behind her famously fashionable, expensive, and voluminous skirts. The revelation comes as a surprise to many who had, despite rumours, not expected such a scandal from a highly beloved and reputable figure. Others insist it was only a matter of time: No one could be so highly regarded without some skeletons. Certainly one rumour has been debunked though. While some have speculated Amidala, so frequently surrounded by her coterie of handmaidens, might prefer the opposite sex, her sexuality at least is no longer so uncertain.
Supporters of Amidala have suggested she may have been married, but it simply wasn't in a Nabooan ceremony, perhaps her husband was from one of the many myriad of other Republican worlds? Perhaps it was the war that pushed her to keep it silent? The reasoning suggested is that were the individual a member of the army or navy, Amidala's status as a war bride, and her position in the Senate, would make a quiet ceremony preferable. Certainly, Amidala was known to guard her private life jealously. However, such arguments would appear to be negated by the simple fact that neither on Coruscant nor Naboo have any records of a marriage been discovered. While the marriage could have taken place on another planet, the Senator was rarely gone long enough to other locations for this to be concluded likely. One of Amidala's former handmaidens, Hollé Othinson, has pointed out that Amidala could very well have been involved with a clone, and how could a clone marry? As one of Amidala's handmaidens, this source might be considered more reliable, and Amidala was a known defender of clones in the Senate. However, given the infertility of the clones, this scenario also seems unlikely, although it is true there are cultures which do not keep records of marriage, and Mandalorian culture is one of those. Regardless, If there were no shame in the actions taken, why has no one stepped forward to mourn with the family? Is the father dead or without friends or relations? The only realistic possibilities remaining are, was this pregnancy the result of a one night stand? Was Amidala wilder than believed? Or was her condition the result of a long-standing affair?
For the latter, the primary suspects are the Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, close friends and ultimate traitors to the late Senator, Gregar Typho, her chief of security, and Bail Organa, (whose wife is notably infertile), her closest ally in the Senate. Captain Typho when questioned denied having anything other than a professional relationship with Amidala, and when pressed for answers on the father's identity responded angrily that he would not betray the Senator's secrets, but she was a virtuous woman, and this line of inquiry was disrespectful to the dead. Bail Organa likewise responded that he did not know any details of the Senator's personal romantic encounters, but felt that Amidala's memory should be respected claiming she was a noble woman.
These sentiments have been echoed by her family as well as the current Queen of Naboo who stated that no inquiry was ever made into the child's paternity during the autopsy. "Those closest to Padmé will know who it was she best loved. Given the child did not survive, there is no need to search for the father. We believe such matters to be personal, and on Naboo would consider such an invasion improper. Amidala was a beloved figure who sacrificed much for her people. We cannot deride her personal decisions when we cannot even ask her for the facts. We have faith in her principles."
Given her principles have been notably admired for the entirety of her political career, many are lead to speculate on the last cruel option. Was Senator Amidala a victim of rape? It has been suggested this could be the case, but who could have gotten past her dedicated guard? Unless it was the guard. Captain Typho has gone on record to say that when Padmé was with the Jedi, they were responsible for her protection, and she was often left alone with them. The Jedi are known to have murdered the late Senator, did they use their notorious mind tricks on her too? Skywalker was notably close to Amidala and frequently visited her at her home and the Senate when on Coruscant. Kenobi was also seen to be leaving her apartment at unusually early hours of the morning. Was Amidala a victim of Jedi seduction? Of non-consensual sex? Forbidden from entering into relationships, little is known of what Jedi perversions may have existed, but one can easily imagine how an innocent young woman might be swept up in the power of a young and attractive Jedi Knight to utter devastation. How far does this treachery stem? Skywalker and Kenobi are certainly believed to have been involved in her death, but does this go further than politics? Was Senator Amidala the tragic victim in a crime of passion? We may never know, but we mourn the loss of not only a great woman, but her child who was taken with her, a child who was, by all accounts, most likely to have been one of the Jedi's own. Truly, they have no mercy.