Why did Naboo ELECT a 14-year-old Queen? | Star Wars Lore

[@jpd196]

I remember reading somewhere that in Naboo's culture, they believed that children were wiser and more open-minded so they elected young leaders but I'm not 100% sure.

[@violator7964]

John-Paul Dass That’s a crap and desperate attempt at an explanation offered in ex post facto.

[@wargearinternational7679]

Children are just more vunruable for corruption and can easly be turned into marionettes by their counclers. There is a reason why politicans in the real world are usually above the age of 21.

[@nathanielclaw2841]

I feel like a better explanation would be kids are implanted with some kind of chip (yes, chips again) on the brain that lets you download knowledge into their heads. Which would explain why they elected a 14 year old, because if her body was young she already had the knowledge and experience of a grow adult

[@lazymansload520]

I recently moderated a mid term exam at a high school. I told a student to put their phone away during the test. The student yelled ‘fuck you’ and through a balled up piece of paper at me. This is similar to an incident I experienced in a middle school. Asked a kid with a bruised and bleeding nose who punched him. Replied ‘fuck you’ and through a pencil at me. So, yeah, I don’t care if it’s historical, the idea that children are wiser is fucking stupid.

[@Bacontats]

lazymansload unless the idea is if a family and group of advisors are going to be behind a child, perhaps they will govern better, for no one would want a child to be harassed or abused. 1) advisors and families will really think twice before having their child be a front for corrupt policies, therefore ruling more responsibly and ensuring their child is safe. 2) advisors and families will rule better and kinder because the spotlight is on their child. Not truly rational, but there’s an argument in there somewhere. Somebody find it.

[@darthvader4594]

she has the confidence for ruling an entire planet while i don't even have the confidence to talk to a waiter....fml

[@kaikideishuu7068]

Be bold lord vader

[@shorewall]

Just force choke him until he gives you what you want. :D

[@ally939]

I read that in Vader’s voice and was mildly entertained

[@SaintFort]

Socialization is much easier for women, since they aren't criticized for failing socially, aren't subjected to whatever the female equivalent to emasculation is, and are treated with leniency when they do something wrong.

[@TerriblyIronic9]

@@SaintFort Very well said

[@EckhartsLadder]

For those saying 'you don't elect a Queen'. They do on Naboo.

[@thedishonoredamerican129]

EckhartsLadder we must protect the queen.

[@gc6096]

Merry Christmas EckhartsLadder :)

[@John2r1]

Royals are typically not elected however her young age does mean she can be easily manipulated and others often do plot to put easily manipulated people on throwns they are not truly capable of ruling. We see tgis occur throughout our own history. So elected by the people or by a cancil that believe they can control her or even being born to become queen doesn't matter. She is young and has been used as a pown. So Merry Christmas.

[@ianli3027]

Well elective monarchies did exist in real life with the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as the biggest example. And some princes only held towns or cities with again the biggest example being within the Holy Roman Empire

[@myrrthegravitationallyadep741]

Per attack of the clones, she could not rule indefinitely as monarch. She was limited to 2 terms as Padme states at ~39:00 and the only way she could stay longer would have been an amendment to the Naboo constitution

[@tsukopara2054]

I always liked Naboo’s strange politics. It helps the fantasy aspect of the universe & it’s not entirely implausible. The Naboo are matured by their education system at a much younger age, that & Padme had a large council of advisors whose word she took seriously. If anything, it seems like the Naboo elect young queens or kings in hopes that they’ll, as you say, grow with the planet & into office.

[@wschippr1]

Tsuko Para I always just assumed that the people had to vote in the monarch from a member of the Royal family. I mean, monarchs have been elected before on Earth (though I can't think of any by the general population, just nobility and royalty).

[@idiocyincorporated7635]

@@wschippr1 that's an interesting concept. Voting in a memper of a royal family. I think it would do well in a fantasy setting

[@jakeryan4545]

@@wschippr1 Not knowing too much outside of the movies and youtube, I thought this was just assumed based on Earth history. It was fairly common to have elected monarchs and emperors under this type of system back in the day.

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

Alex Noa When Norway became independent from Sweden, there was a popular vote to become a Constitutional Monarchy or Republic. The Constitutional Monarchy won, and they also had to accept a prechosen member of the Royal Family.

[@sadface7457]

Though it was similar to the Dali Lama thing where a child was selected to be leader (the election being that process).

[@chancellorpalpatine3352]

Real towns elect animals as mayor.

[@imppro]

Is that a reference to Daily Dose of Internet's video on how a town elected a dog for mayor?

[@smokingpiggy5425]

God dam animal crossing

[@dropdead234]

That's in the People's Republic of Kalifornia. NOT the real world. States having Trillion dollar debts shouldn't happen in the Real World.

[@imppro]

@@dropdead234 ???

[@andrewphillips8341]

dropdead234 oh my god we get it, Your Daddy never loved you, get some therapy and move on

[@Rezkeshdadesh]

Maybe having a bunch of 8 year olds drafting their legislation is what made them easy prey for the Trade Federation in the first place.

[@ethanwoods1775]

Or perhaps it was a bunch of old people wanting to fill there pockets with money, 8 year olds are normally not very corrupt and an institution like the trade federation thrive off of corruption in the state which make having a young stubborn head of state very problematic. While old/grown people normally want things that an 8 year couldn't even imagine and will do bad things against there government to get them .

[@ethanwoods1775]

Lol yet were talking about Padme Amidala who literally was fighting and traveling with the Jedi risking her own life all the time . I pretty sure your right and most modern day children from 1 world countries wouldn't understand sacrifice but if your raised to understand people/culture and to govern like Padme was a child would do just fine cause that what they know to do, while in our world children are not taught to govern or etiquette or any actual trade tell there much older but instead are taught how to listen, and to be quite, and how to play video games , and watch KZbin for fun and how to basically become a average middle class citizen if properly educated as the system wants .This is not how child monarchs of Naboo are trained from the moment there born because if it was naboo whould probably be a actuall dump were the rest of the galaxy dumps there garbage.

[@Rezkeshdadesh]

@@ethanwoods1775 Padme was at least 14 by the time Episode I rolled around, not 8, so she's more mature then than she would have been 6 years younger. In the real world, children of monarchs were trained to one day govern as well, but the earliest they would even consider letting them reign in their own right was mid to late teens.

[@patronofdragons]

If you're talking about the legislature youth program, they don't actually draft laws. It pretty much like the Model UN, a program that helps kids learn about politics.

[@anxietywave8735]

@Speaker Roach The Star Wars Galaxy is not the ''real world''. Even in the real world a child becomes capable of understanding any complex problems by the age of 11.

[@moonhawk64]

"Why did Naboo elect a 14-year-old queen?" Because some aspects of Naboo are based on medieval Poland, that's why. In medieval Poland, the Sejm (Parliament), consisting of noblemen, elected their monarchs. On October 13, 1384, the Sejm elected 12-year-old Jadwiga, youngest daughter of Louis the Great, king of Hungary and Poland, to be their new King (because she wasn't married, and "King" meant "sovereign", while "queen" meant "wife of the sovereign".) She married Grand Duke Wladyslaw Jagiello, with whom she ruled until her death in childbirth in 1399. She was known as a sharp negotiator, traveling with the army for several years. She was later canonized Jadwiga of Poland, patron saint of queens. Secondly, the accents of Boss Nast and his people are bastardizations of the accent Polish people frequently have when English is their second language (due, in part, to the lack of a "th" sound in the Polish language, so that English-speaking Poles pronounce "th" as just "t".Lastly, the Battle of Naboo, where Boss Nast and his army appears suddenly to "save the day" is based on the Battle of Vienna, which took place September 12, 1683. King General Jan Sobieski joined battle as Vienna's defenders fought literally at the gates of the palace. He led the largest cavalry charge in history: between 3000-5000 Winged Hussars in the vanguard of between 15,000 - 20,000 mounted Polish-Lithuanian, German, and Holy Roman Empire troops. They rode right through the Ottoman Turk camp, in behind their fighters, and basically broke the back of the Ottoman Turk Empire, which toppled soon after, to be replaced in power by the Holy Roman Church/Empire.

[@medusagorgon9]

Destiny Circle Nice!

[@Karin_Allen]

Wow, I am hugely impressed - and not only by your knowledge and explanation. I'm also impressed that the man responsible for Jar-Jar Binks had that same level of knowledge.

[@laysrightdimple3442]

thanks for sharing this info, it's really interesting

[@benjaminrobledo5466]

That is outstanding... Thanks for the info! I enjoy history every now and then... :D

[@CODBlackOps6WALKTHROUGH]

i hope this gets pinned, so other people stop complaining about child ruler thing. historically things like this happen

[@Yukosan13]

Honestly with how they dress their queen it's possible the idea stems from a religious belief as well.. there some cultures that believe in child goddesses (who get elected then treated like queens until they out grow their role and a new goddess is elected.) Honestly, belief is a huge part of star wars as jedi and sith are very much religious groups that have strong beliefs and different ways of life apart from the average person's... kinda like Tibetan monks who preach nonviolence but are masters at kungfu?)

[@beth12svist]

I'm pretty sure you're confusing Tibet with other places in Asia here. But yes, there is at the very least something very traditionally ceremonial embedded in the costuming choices, and some sort of underlying religious belief would make sense.

[@sophiedamgen7098]

I've always thought the fancy dresses are more like a safety trick. Under all the dresses, accessories and make up there could be everyone with a similar height and face. But it does really have a feeling of something deeper to it, now that you've mentioned it ^^

[@annejeppesen160]

@@sophiedamgen7098 the famous two birds and one stone setup. And her costumes are heavily ritualised, in one of the companion books they are described in detail, e.g. her white makeup and lipstick on only bottom lip are symbols of so and so. Oh and white nail polish on her thumbs alone are symbol of xx

[@klassickasey]

Every part of her wardrobe and styling is highly symbolic. It is so extravagant to show not only the wealth but also rich cultural heritage of the Naboo as she pleads to the Galactic Senate on the intersystem political stage. The red mark on her lip is called the Scar of Remembrance, the cheek dots mimicking tear drops IIRC. Definitely in canon it all has cultural significance, would not be surprised by a spiritual element to it as well. In her quarters on Coruscant she has a set of giant twin statues of the Naboo goddess of the Moon, so the Naboo definitely have feminine deities.

[@sarahchin4401]

There's a place in India were they worship young girls as living embodiments of a goddess, but after they reach puberty they are viewed as normal girls and the shift in status can be mentally damaging. When they are goddess they aren't even allowed to walk on the ground.

[@Wolfeson28]

5:29 No, I don't think they can. There's a specific conversation between Anakin and Padme in Attack of the Clones that goes roughly: Anakin: 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. That's pretty explicit that the Naboo monarch is limited to two terms under the laws in place at that time.

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

I've read somewhere that Padmé herself made those changes to the constitution, because her predecessor had been in office for a long time, and had been unpopular. She wanted to prevent something like this from happening again.

[@iloveindomienoodle]

So, Naboo were essentially a presidential system under a monarch with only a 2-year term?

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

@@iloveindomienoodle They were democracy, which is the form of government (as opposed to an autocracy aka a dictatorship). But we don't know what their form of state would be. We have monarchy and republic, but I can't say what Naboo would be. Elections seem to indicate a republic, but there were kingdoms with elected monarchs in Europe.

[@iloveindomienoodle]

@@sailiealquadacil1284 idk, maybe it's like the Vatican but it has term limits

[@estoniaboodoingmapping1095]

@@iloveindomienoodle actualy,the naboo japanese like dresses make naboo looks like Malasya or UAE

[@RPowell43]

You question Naboo electing a 14 year-old queen, but you don't question Alderaan electing an 18-19 year-old woman as their senator?

[@BlueDragonknight375]

I've hard Leia was 17 when she elected. People never question that because it's from the OT which is "perfect".

[@tomandrews1429]

Was Leia being a senator mentioned in the original trilogy, or was that backstory added later? Also, Leia being a senator is completely inconsequential to the OT story and something (I would think) most people wouldn't know or realize, whereas Padme being a queen is an essential element of the prequel trilogy and so it stands out.

[@KrisFrost4359]

@@tomandrews1429 She was portrayed as an ambassador at the beginning of A New Hope. Sure, it was only briefly mentioned, but it still happened.

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

@@tomandrews1429 Yes, it was. Leia says to Vader right at the beginning of ANH that she is a member of the Imperial Senate, hence a senator.

[@collinhelm4599]

Well Leia’s adoptive mother Breha was the Queen of Alderaan so she probably appointed Leia to the position just like she may have appointed Bail to the position.

[@matthewlee8667]

"You think she's a great Queen?" "Yeah!" *She's only 14* "IMPERIAL TROOPS, OPEN UP!"

[@jayvhoncalma3458]

Yup imperials arrest that lolicon

[@spartangoku7610]

Gonna have to wait 13 years for imperial troops to exist.

[@jelagalam9839]

Federal battalion of Imperials Yeah I know it doesn’t sound that good, but eh

[@Julian-pw5mv]

I think you mean "ISB, OPEN UP!"

[@MeyaRoseGirl]

"Remember, the monarchs can serve indefinitely..." Wrong. In Attack of the Clones, literally seconds after she said "I wasn't the youngest queen ever elected," Anakin said "...I heard they tried to amend the Constitution so you could stay in office." Padme said, "I was relieved when my two terms were up." So a term for queen is the same as the President of the United States. 4 years, limited to two terms. And I always saw it as just Naboo tradition that they wanted younger rulers because they wouldn't be jaded by society, so their choices wouldn't be so morally ambiguous. I think the chances of a successful teenage ruler are just about the same as an adult, and Padme happened to be successful. You could argue that Queen Jamilla (her successor in Attack of the Clones) was less so because she only lasted one term. (There was a different queen in Revenge of the Sith.) But I absolutely agree that Palpatine must have played a large role (I don't know if I would really go by Legends) in her election because he thought he could manipulate her. ("Queen Amidala is young and naive. You will find controlling her will not be difficult.") In fact he did control her so far as to get her to vote for no confidence in Valorum. But, to be honest, I don't think he expected her to escape Naboo during the blockade and invasion, and I don't think he expected her to be able to make peace with the Gungans and drive the Trade Federation away. But, being the master manipulator and politician he was, he took it all in stride for his own benefit. I mean, really, the reason he was able to become Emperor was his uncanny ability to adapt to any given situation and work it to his benefit.

[@thelazarous]

I was looking for someone else to mention the terms limits, I thought I was going crazy

[@MeyaRoseGirl]

@@thelazarous Well, I wrote this comment before I read Queen's Shadow. It turns out a Naboo queen term limit is only 2 years, so she was only queen for a total of 4 years. There is no term limit on a Senator, though, so she had been in the Senate for six years already by the time Attack of the Clones came around, and had already served under at least two, maybe three, successive queens.

[@chew7656]

commenting to save

[@timyuusis3372]

Me thinking back to all my experiences in highschool.... yeah i don't think kids could run a stable government

[@christianealshut1123]

@@MeyaRoseGirl That's not the way I remember it; I grew up with the two four-year terms as well and it's only recently that canon has been changed in this respect. The new version even makes no mention of that corrupt other king any more, though the article about him in Wookiiepedia is still up.

[@MetuendusDominus]

Well elective monarchies did exist in real life with the Holy Roman Empire as the biggest example. And some princes only held towns or cities with again the biggest example being within the Holy Roman Empire.

[@sundhaug92]

Actually, Europe to this day has an elective absolute monarchy, the King of the Vatican aka the Pope

[@MetuendusDominus]

sundhaug92 oh yeah forgot about that if I remember correctly that’s why the Vatican can’t join the EU as they classify it as a dictatorship despite how Pope is an elected title

[@slvrcobra1337]

@@MetuendusDominus lol

[@ianli3027]

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth also comes to mind.

[@IONATVS]

Yup, the EU is fine with monarchies, just not absolute monarchies, and the Pope can (at least in theory) veto or pass any law within the borders of the Vatican, so he counts. This makes Vatican city the world's only elected absolute monarchy in the present day (though there have been others in the past). Also most constitutional monarchies do have some provisions where the monarch can exert absolute unilateral power in very vaguely defined "emergencies", but it's generally expected that if they tried to pull something when there wasn't at least a fairly good reason, the people of those countries would revolt.

[@alwaysdrunk5461]

The naboo princess clothing is quite inspired by japanese and chinese culture

[@peixe-no-pão]

The iconic Vote of No Confidence-scene gown worn by Queen Amidala is culturally Mongolian and was worn by the antiquated Khalkha noblewomen.

[@alwaysdrunk5461]

Anne yes I see something mongolian too

[@peixe-no-pão]

It’s quite fun trying to find the real-world inspirations for Star Wars wardrobes, isn’t it?

[@alwaysdrunk5461]

Anne it is yes

[@jeffkardosjr.3825]

Manchurian

[@ash9280]

I think we can understand most of the ''strange'' creative decisions that George Lucas took for episode 1 if you look the themes of episode 1 which is namely innocence and nativity. The episode 1 is supposed to take place near the end of the Golden age. Considering we get a younger Anakin, Naboo looks like an Eden-esque world, Naboo is lead by a young virgin queen. All of its main younger characters, Anakin and Padme are naive. Their naivety clashes with institutions. For Padme, it's the Senate and for Anakin, it's the Jedi council. Yet in the end of the day, the naivety brings them to victory( sort of since it allowed the Sith to come to power). Padme resists the advice of older people around her to stay put in Coruscant and decides to take action on her own. Jar Jar's fumbling like a doofus on the battle destroys tons of droids, the Anakin's naively and unwillingly destroys the CPU for all of the droids in Naboo which allows them to win. It's not the weathered and old Jedi that defeats the Sith, it's the naive and brash Jedi student that defeats the Sith . The central issue of taxation disputes are seemingly mundane and ''innocent'' but it masks a much greater evil lurking behind it.

[@chew7656]

that's interesting

[@kevinrowley55]

I am a year older than my sister, but she looks 10 years older than me because of her lifestyle. Take care of yourself Be a Qui-Gon.

[@jediarchives7826]

I mean, it is pretty easy to manipulate a 14 year old

[@galaxies101]

Probably the main reason lol

[@marrqi7wini54]

@Soham Sharma And Palpatine manipulated the whole galaxy for decades.

[@karena2746]

Well then it must be even easier to manipulate a whole council of Jedi. No one ever figured out that Palpatine was the Sith. Sure the Jedi could say the dark side clouds every thing. Okay but you can still think. If the Jedi really on the force alone then that sounds like a handycap. Thay means you can't do anything that nature gave you. It like people calming about there legs hurting. That just means you have to start walking more to built muscles.

[@JakeSteele2011]

@Jedi Archives...Sounds like you know something about that, chester.

[@Drace90]

Oh, really? Ever tried to get a teenager to do what you want? If certain elections in recent years are anything to go by, it seems to be much easier to manipulate old people by making use of their decades worth of biases.

[@attilathehun5067]

Do you mean excitement for padme was palpATINEable?

[@sashablueperson]

Honestly this is one thing that has always bothered me about episodes 1-3, how does a grown woman fall for a little kid? But if she isn't all that mature in comparison then it makes a little more sense. Still, Anakin isn't really charming in the movies, I don't see how Padme falls for him. It's not a believable love story.

[@attilathehun5067]

@@sashablueperson A: What does that have to do with my comment? B: Put it into perspective. They're only 5 years apart. My parents are about that far apart.

[@EchthelionII]

My family are friends with a couple where the husband got his license when his future wife was born, I think he was 16.

[@rjonboy7608]

But I do remember when I was 14 sneaking into houses girlfriends were babysbabysitting at and especially 9 year olds were ANNOYING! The younger were okay but we were in high school and they were still yapping about grade school stuff, cartoons, bubble gum pop, etc., and even though I had permission to be there (sometimes) the little rodents always tried to tattle.

[@Kolonol1]

Me and my wife are 4 years apart...5 years isn't too bad...

[@BladeCrossEXE]

I agree with the bit about Tattooine's harsh atmosphere for Kenobi's rapid aging. In "Old Wounds", only 3 years after Revenge of the Sith, he's already going gray.

[@darkhorsearmor3513]

Fun fact, the Hungarians elected their king (which actually happened in several places, they were just called kings and queens because president didn’t exist back then) and they elected a young boy once so that the nobles could have more power. And at that time the Ottomans Invaded. Kinda reminds you of something.

[@estoniaboodoingmapping1095]

Actualy,its elective monarchy,and exists in Malasya Aso Venice was a Merchantist Republic not a Monarchy

[@arnoldtabor3767]

I though naboo was kinda like the Roman Republic with its patrician families all with what could be considered "royal" blood and for a long time they were the only ones elected to higher offices ,but obviously instead of 2 consuls ,1 queen .

[@ComradeMeow]

Actually, Naboo's ruler designations do make sense. I believe their system is based on the Holy Roman Empire (elective monarchy), where the monarch isn't hereditary, but rather picked from amongst a number of powerful noble families.

[@lucofparis4819]

Actually, Naboo nobility ranks make sense. But I know why you say that. You're American, so you have no neighbour states the size of a city, governed by a prince (like Monaco). Now, why they would go with election rather than bloodline is weird, yet not unheard of, or that far from say, a constitutional monarchy. I'd even say that this weird feeling furthers the sense that Naboo is a real place inhabited with people who are different from us. So, it helps immersion.

[@oliverschoneck7750]

maybe its only nobles from a certain bloodline that cna be elected but because the bloodline is so old as good as all of them have some claim to it.

[@lucofparis4819]

@@oliverschoneck7750 That's not how bloodlines work, but, anyway. It would seem logical indeed to have only the most "patrician" families presenting candidates for the elections. That said, these families would be many, and represent the whole Naboo elite.

[@emilylewis5373]

That’s how I read it was many years ago. Naboo has “noble families” and their children are taught and educated from a young age politics and statesmanship. Then out of those candidates they get their king or queen. Padmé was taught from birth how to be a good leader

[@chew7656]

commenting to save

[@RomanumChristum]

@@lucofparis4819 Wow an average europoor “heheheh yur um ashkually American so yia yu can’t know anything” you are pathetic.

[@craignewsome2058]

You have a Merry Christmas too Ecks🔥💯

[@evenl.b4409]

#AskEck Have you seen the “Vader: Shards of the past” if not you definitely should... If you have what do you think

[@randomcoyote8807]

I have my own hypotheses about the "electing child royals" on Naboo, developed after writing in an ongoing (14 year) collaborative fanfic over the years: 1. Why children? Not all the rulers are children, but many have been. I wager that children represent newness and innocence, and to an extent that's true-- they are not yet cynical or jaded, and they don't owe any favors to anyone after climbing the ladders of power and making a lifetime of backroom deals or backstabs. There's a forthrightness to children that can seem refreshing to some (naive and annoying to others of course). 2. Why Queens or Kings? Royal titles like King and Queen might just be carryovers or chosen for romanticized purposes. Governing a planet might benefit from an autocratic ruler who doesn't need to go through multiple layers of committees and competing legislatures. And it is much nicer to say "we elected a new Queen!" instead of "the new dictator took power today". 3. How do they get away with it? I suspect that this is an indulgence that Naboo can afford because at the time, the Republic was perceived as stable and peaceful, and there was nothing wrong that couldn't be solved by the Jedi or the Judiciary corps. Feeling insulated and secure, why not elect someone who isn't cynical and jaded and who represents the future? Few people probably saw the prospect of real, bloody war on the horizon. Chancellor Valorum was seen as a decent and capable leader, just dogged by "baseless accusations". I suspect a lot of ministers and other "handlers" made sure the child rulers didn't do something in a tantrum. Of course, once the wars started, it would be foolish and naive for the Naboo to continue electing child rulers.

[@weldonwin]

The answer is that George Lucas has an obsession with knights rescuing princesses and queens, so he decided he had to have a young queen in Phantom Menace, but realized that he's supposed to be making a trilogy about democracy and the evils of autocratic rule, so he has to make Naboo's queen an elected democratic position, but he realises that he'd have to make child Anikin older in order to fit with an older, elected Queen Amidala, so Lucas says "Screw it, she's a democratically elected leader at age 14". Its not the worst story decision Lucas ever made, but it is blisteringly dumb none the less. He could have made Padme a hereditary monarch and just made Naboo a constitutional monarchy, with power resting chiefly in the hands of an elected parliament. Padme, could still be rescued, could still do pretty much everything she does in the movie, nothing much would really change, but it would fix this mind numbingly dumb plot point.

[@dropdead234]

Lucas secret loli fascination confirmed!

[@nathanielclaw2841]

I mean, why 14 tho? I feel like if she was the same age as the actress it wouldnt have any difference would it? Its not like a age gap like that is impossible or even rare

[@Lark88]

I'm not even sure he put that much thought into it. Lucas was determined to make this movie "for kids," so I'm pretty sure everything that was in that movie was in there because he thought kids would think it's fun.

[@CrimsonSp33d]

Spot on.

[@texmontana420]

I didn't give that much of a shit. It's a story.

[@sundoga4961]

I had always assumed the election was from amongst a very limited base, such as was done in the old Holy Roman Empire, where the Elector-Counts could only choose from amongst the high nobility of the Empire. If all the other candidates were too old, even younger or otherwise unacceptable, a 14 year old could well be the best choice.

[@MarcusCato275]

In the ancient past and up to the 18th century children were considered adults when they reached puberty. In ancient Rome adulthood was formally acknowledged at the age of 14. And if the child is well groomed for political office and posses intellect and political intuition they can be effective rulers.

[@redadmiralofvalyria867]

To be fair the founder of the Romanovs Dynasty (Mikhail Fedorovich) was made czar when he was only 16 (2 years older than padme, & I say these 2 are similar cause both of them were put in power by some assembly/election Only difference is mikhail started a Dynasty The people of naboo wanted her to be queen for life, but since she was elected she rather have it go back to being terms essentially)

[@Drace90]

Many cultures had very young people as leaders. Canonically it's part of Naboos culture that they valued the wisdom and idealism of the youth. And given how both in Star Wars and in reality a government of old people seems to be rather rusty and prone to corruption, I think they are onto something. Also, elective monarchies are a thing. I wish we would rather appreciate the colorfullness of the ideas that are being put into Star Wars, rather than calling everything stupid and ridiculous right off the bat.

[@mreinhardt1820]

"Darth Plageuis" by James Luceno explains this very well.

[@Janellelle]

I LOVE THAT BOOK

[@ashupashu5559]

*Queen Amidala is young and naive.* - Senator Palpatine.

[@professorX8218]

Well this YoUnG aNd NaIvE person didn't give into the trade federation, was HAND PICKED by the queen that came after her to be senator and said yes not because she wanted the power, but because she was honored to serve Naboo even though the job was VERY tough at first. This YoUnG aNd NaIvE person didn't care about the power or money she did what was in the best intrest for her people. Also the ENTIRE jedi order and republic were tricked into trusting Palpatine so just because a young person fell for it does NOT make her any more naive then the others who fell for it. Also there are some very mature 14 year olds out in the world. Not all teenagers are naive.

[@pepperVenge]

The Holy Roman Empire elected their Emperor from a counsel of electors. In Ancient Rome, when it was a kingdom, they elected their Kings by the Roman assemblies. And Alexander Hamilton argued for an Elective Monarchy for the United States. It didn't happen. Just because you don't see elected monarchies that often, doesn't mean they can't happen.

[@oiops]

Plot based shenanigans of George Lucas. Better than the shenanigans of Rian the Roundhead.

[@wargearinternational7679]

@@Marcus51090 So you are saying that episode 8 was better then 7?

[@killerOfMoons]

@wargearinternational I would watch 8 over 7 any day, 7 is just a remake of NH and nothing more.

[@Marcus51090]

wargearinternational yup 100%

[@wargearinternational7679]

@@killerOfMoons Episode 8 is called not unreasonable a remake of episode 5 in reverse by some. It has also a highly deconstrutive approach, that is not really great if you want to have enougher episode behind that. It also kills most of the iconic characters of the old triology, changes space combat in star wars for every movie post episode 8 and wipes out the resitance without a piece of expanding the universe.

[@killerOfMoons]

@wargearinternational all your points are fair and I do respect and agree with some of them, but I enjoy it more than what I feel like is a safe play which is 7.

[@GamingRoomOficial]

As Brazil's emperor, Pedro II was crowned with 15 years old. If I'm not mistaken.

[@shahmirm7226]

Covenant CAS Assault Carrier vs First Order Resurgent Class Star Destroyer (17th try, we hit 150+ likes last time)

[@tiagocorreia419]

Dude is that an #askeck question or an idea for a video? I think you should say that as an idea and not use the hashtag

[@shahmirm7226]

Tiago Correia video idea, I edited the comment thank you

[@Aezeus]

Everyone watch the SWT Vader Fanfilm Just sayin

[@Holdenheroofheroes]

Already have

[@loregeek7853]

I did that roughly 27 seconds after it dropped

[@Aezeus]

Now watch it again ;)

[@lou3712]

Watched it 66 times already

[@imppro]

Already did.

[@Drace90]

"Who in their right mind would make a child their ruler?" Many people in many different cultures throughout humanities entire history.

[@godzilla5006]

#AskEck Best Robots Forerunner Machines (Halo) Chariot Fargo robots (HZD) Reapers (Mass effect) Cybertronions (transformers)

[@jhonnoilcringeincarnato8593]

Cybertronians ftw

[@greaterhalo0659]

Forerunners

[@TheEsdaniel]

reapers kick ass

[@jhonnoilcringeincarnato8593]

@@TheEsdaniel more like get their ass kicked

[@cirbam2747]

#AskEck do you like ladders?

[@LAV-III]

Is it because he has ladders in his name

[@nabielarwindra1143]

@@NightRaven-lh1bf it's a joke

[@heathermarcoux294]

Can you consider the current worldwide political climate today and tell me with a straight face that electing a teenager is not plausible? I could see this happening in the real world even without nefarious manipulation. Even so, there already have been much younger monarchs of various nations in history.

[@grandmastercain]

I think that Naboo simply has a tradition of thinking young teens make the best politicians. I'm not sure why, but it seems to be the case. Here in America, we still think the best elected president are old white males, for example, which is why anyone else becomes so controversial. That's why Padme's apparent successor is also rather young. I'm reminded of the Douglas Adams bit, where he explains why a world of humans would continually vote for their reptilian overlords, but that's a rather extreme case. The bottom line is that some cultures have a very different idea of what makes a good leader, and for Naboo, they seem to prefer youths.

[@nathanielclaw2841]

Well, actually, i believe in most countries you can only be elected if you are older, and the age is different for each country. So even if the population was dumb enough to vote for a teenager the law would not let him even be a candidate

[@grandmastercain]

@@nathanielclaw2841 Well actually, the movies themselves say there had been younger queens than Padme, Queens, as in plural. Clearly, the law on Naboo does allow younger people to be candidates... and in fact, I suspect they have an age ceiling, which is why Palpatine couldn't run for monarch.

[@nathanielclaw2841]

@@grandmastercain so... They have a ceiling... But not a... Okay, WTF is wrong with these people?

[@Drace90]

Given the bullshit that 60-year old politicians who don't even know how the internet works do to the world, would it really be such a bad idea to give more power to the children? Compare the current state of the american government with american youth activism. I know who appears to be much more competent.

[@mesmer3780]

Since Naboo seemed to exclusively elect very young girls to be their Queens, some even younger than Padme, I'd say the tradition of child-Queens came from a deep cultural fascination and reverence for youth. Probably based in religion. Naboo most likely had a child-like god or pantheon, and viewed children as fonts of fundamental wisdom and mouthpieces of the divine. They may have also valued child-Queens as rudders to keep their society culturally and morally stable: The longer a ruler stays in power, the slower cultural norms tend to change...

[@jackhowe6]

Naboo voted for a 14 year old absolute ruler because it seemed like a good idea. And made Jar Jar Binks first a military leader, then an ambassador, for the same reason.

[@kingsolomon673]

So she'll be protected by the FBI

[@sundhaug92]

In the US, it's the secret service, not the FBI, which protects the president

[@DariViol]

@@sundhaug92 r/whooosh

[@Joesolo13]

@@DariViol We caught your meme, we just know it's wrong. Because "protection" is reopening investigations a week before a presidential election right?

[@AAhmou]

@@Joesolo13 The meme's more about her being young than her being elected...

[@ee-ef8qr]

Child monarch actually existed, usually there was a person acting as a regent.

[@maddog5284]

If ur old and are stressed or been at war u do age faster seen with obi wan after all he fight in the clone wars all his friends are deid and the empire is constly trying to kill him so its no wadner he ages faster

[@addaccount9246]

14 year old? guess she watches pewdiepie

[@apollon5205]

ATTENTION, ALL 14 YEAR OLDS

[@ninjaked1265]

And Anakin is a 9 year old

[@jorgepeterbarton]

Or is Greta Thernburg?

[@yt-sh]

I am from Future and I hate to bring this news to you

[@payneanthony4579]

Wait I thought that they said in the phantom menace that they elected child queens because of their innocence and purity, making them great war leaders

[@amiethompson6062]

She said something like: "They even tried to amend the constitution, when my term was over so I can serve longer." So she couldn't serve longer.

[@dilflover3005]

Anakin actually said that but yeah same concept

[@armando.336]

Looking at to now it’s crazy how Padme was just as manipulated in her love and political stance. As much as Aniken was for his force abilities by Palpatine.

[@uniwaffle6190]

Well in 1765 denmark had a king who was a baby sooo...

[@violator7964]

Uniwaffle 61 With an inherited title it makes total sense that you can have even infant rulers, but not elected monarchs.

[@uniwaffle6190]

@@violator7964 true, he didn't last long anyway, the people overthrew and ate him

[@A_annoying_rodent]

@@uniwaffle6190 wait....WHAT? ok guys ok.....maybe eating him went a bit too far?

[@incrediblehobson8479]

Poland here. In 1384 we 11YO girl as king

[@SmokeDog1871]

@@incrediblehobson8479 Ya but those children werent elected

[@cb41503]

It seems like Poland's elected monarchy in real life

[@rachet4444]

I never realized how much Padme's headpieces looked like Mongolian and Qin dynasty pieces for the emperor's concubines until now

[@zachrose359]

Because it was convenient to the plot.

[@stevelucky7579]

Because George was told if she was 16 it would be concerning as America hadn’t hit the Ara~Ara~ craze yet.

[@hermos3602]

You do realize that there have been young queens in history. Even as young as 12. Not just queens, but even kings. King Tut was only 13.

[@stevelucky7579]

@@hermos3602 shut up bot

[@norad_clips]

Merry Christmas, Eck!

[@chetandesai9908]

In your profile pic is that charmander ?

[@norad_clips]

Rahul Desai The one in N7 armor, yes.

[@yaang9258]

The fandom and the star wars galaxy came to hate Jar Jar Binks because he was manipulated by Palpatine and he was a clumsy mess. Yet Padmé was the one who helped orchestrate the rise of Palpatine by calling a vote of no confidence against Vallorum. How is that fair for Jar Jar?

[@adamhymas4620]

The escape pod from a New Hope vs the US Space Force. Some questions deserve answers.

[@1532JJ]

I want to know how she installed her double(Keira Knightley) and took a back seat. Presumably rising to power at 14 made her well known not just on her own planet to a wider audience as well, with her picture splashed everywhere. How then did she sucessfully drop into a back seat role and put her double in her place? I mean, Knightley and Portman don't look or sound the same, are very different heights etc. Everyone on the planet and likely in the Galatic Senate(especially Palpatine) would see right through her disguise and when she switches. It makes no sense.

[@chaysethepurplewolf2060]

Naboo elected Queen Apailana at 12-years-old, making her the youngest monarch.

[@elisekehle8520]

Great video- one small error- the queen is term limited without invoking the constitutional provision Palpatine mentioned, so a queen's rule can't be indefinite by default. Seriously though, I like your channel and the emphasis you place on the DP novel is splendid. IMO it is the best of the EU because it was the last big attempt (before Rose Tico, who obviously has her good and bad points as a character/plot device) to really capture the ideology and economy of the Republic, and honestly makes the Phantom Menace (which has always been a guilty pleasure of mine) much more fun to watch.

[@Mikey-xz4vn]

At least she wasn't just another Theed beltway insider

[@DrinkYourNailPolish]

A child monarch seems like a ceremonial figurehead just there to make the ppl happy while the adults do the real work behind the scenes. The Queen of Naboo is like Jack Tunney in the old WWF before Vince McMahon revealed himself to be the real owner.

[@Hinatachan360]

Wasn't king Tut 13 when he came into power? But then again, Tut wasn't elected.

[@ahsoka5216]

I always thought Palpatine manipulated the election for Padme to win because he probably believed she would be easy to manipulate since she was a child and little did he know how much of an obstacle Padme would be to his plans.

[@westrim]

14 year old Padme. George had to be talked into aging Ahsoka up to 14, and he still had her in a tubetop+miniskirt. Do you see what I see?

[@Masa6x]

Nonce

[@pattonramming1988]

FBI open up

[@mateom1691]

I will forever be grateful for the amazing universe that George gave us in Star Wars, but a lot of his creative decisions were shady to say the least. That was the problem with the prequels. He had full creative control of all three movies, with nobody being brave enough to tell him “No.” A lot of George Lucas’ ideas were great, but a lot of them weren’t. It’s just the reality of Star Wars to be honest.

[@joshuapray]

There is a *lot* of hypersexualisation of females in the Clone Wars series, not least Ahsoka in a pretty unsuitable-for-combat tube top. But how involved was Lucas with the art direction, I wonder? He was executive producer, not director.

[@triaenmarsh107]

Are her (Padme) parents' ever talked about in the books? I don't recall ever hearing about them.

[@youngsmitty347]

Anyone seen that new Vader fan film yet? It's pretty good.

[@Crazybawrks]

Yeah it was p good

[@patricknakasone9376]

My head cannon was the elected monarch simply rubber stamped the legislation passed by elected representative body of Taboo the vast majority of time. Until the time of the movies they where a developed but quite back water world. They had long stretches of time where the local politics where dry and boring.

[@mustang2262]

Can you do an episode/series on the uniforms of Star Wars?

[@Xerocoo]

From the Plagueis novel, it seems more like a figurehead position. The high Archy of the wealthy families seemed more in control

[@kennethkates3140]

Personal shield technology compared Dune Halo Mass Effect and Star Wars

[@maledwarfwarrior]

Don't forget warhammer 40k!

[@FantasticExplorers]

I love you @EckhartsLadder ...and videos like this are why!!

[@jamesamick2945]

It's not unprecedented, King Tut was younger than that

[@jonbong8547]

this makes me think back to that Vader comic where a queen said something like "distressed youths thrust into positions of power are easier to manipulate"

[@TheT7770ify]

What if we all agree that she was of royal blood but everyone can vote on the next of kin to take the throne and everyone would rather have a 14 year old rather then whoever else there was.

[@violator7964]

TheT7770ify Because that’s not confirmed anywhere.

[@t65bx25]

Violator WE can confirm it. It’s a fantasy. The power of headcanon.

[@ismata3274]

do you mean people elect who from the current royal family will be the governor, than yes that would make sense perfectly in this situation. her opponents must be either much younger or were deemed ill fitting for whatever reason to be a ruler by the populace. it makes sense in all accounts, even a younger queen is very probable. good idea!

[@TheTruthIsGonnaHurt]

14 year old Queen makes total sense. 13 year old Queen that’s fucking crazy what civilization does that !?!?

[@sharp52092]

Perhaps the Queen's Shadow novel will cover this.

[@marrqi7wini54]

And it did too.

[@DigiPen92]

There are younger rulers appeared in other series existed such as Sanaki from Fire Emblem series and The Young Emperor from Akame ga Kill!. Padme isn't the only younger ruler existed.

[@rotwang2000]

Lucas wanted a love interest for his 9-year old Annakin ... the rest is just the big church of Lucas apologism called the Star Wars EU.

[@nagihangot6133]

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa disney lover alert!!

[@a.williams3037]

I am somewhat in the dark on this bit so honest question: In star wars I have heard of the term (Vaugely) of "Galactic Years" due to the fact that a "Year" would vary from planet to planet. Is it possible that these kinds of years are different from our understanding of a year? If so is it possible that she is perhaps rather 18-25 as a more reasonable adult age to take on any sort of job I would think of like that. Though it would still be young it is more likely than perhaps say a "Younger monarch" at the age of say 13 or less years.

[@racheljohara91]

I wish they had just started the first movie with Anakin being much older, and Padme being an 18 year old princess by birth or something. Then it wouldn't be something to distract from the plot, plus the romance would be more believable and have more time to develop. It's just much simpler. The way they did it made it so weird and complicated, presumably a choice made only so they could make her not that much older than child Anakin. I'm sorry but I find the whole idea of a 14 year old being elected really stupid. That's suspending disbelief gone too far. They had 20 years to come up with this.

[@sierrasouthwell9237]

Also, a 14-16 year old already being a "great pilot" makes a lot more sense than a it being so with a 9 year old.

[@krim7]

@@sierrasouthwell9237 He literally uses magic to be a better pilot.

[@OrDuneStudios]

A story like Obiwan and Satine as how Anakin and Padme got together would have been way better

[@beverlyarcher3744]

Especially considering that her actresses was way older than 14 years old thus why she looks older

[@Dagenspear]

It's a fictional alien planet political structure.

[@michaelvuong5197]

Merry Christmas to you too Ecks

[@tomchaney6085]

Is it possible that the Naboo just age more quickly than regular humans?

[@gryffinduck8717]

The Naboo are humans

[@tomchaney6085]

So far as we know. My new headcanon is ghat they are a shorter lived subspecies of human that diverged from the parent species after the collapse of whatever ancient power spread humans around the galaxy (possibly sped up through interbreeding with the Gungans, but that's only speculation)

[@hyperiongm330]

@@tomchaney6085 The Naboo colonized that planet intentionally though, they're humans from the core world of Grizmallt who left due to a violent revolution. Most humans throughout Star Wars are colonists from some planet in the core that had traveled throughout the Galaxy on relativistic speed 'sleeper' ships or later hyperspace capable colony vessels. Others were left in various places by ancient Empires such as the Rakata (in legends of course)

[@tomchaney6085]

Very interesting legends explanation to sit alongside my new canon one

[@ismata3274]

perfect! example, in lotr, hobbits are a human subspecies, but they age differently, and were considered adult after their 30 ys.

[@jesterjames7633]

you think when the empire took over... a significant portion of naboo populace said, thank god finally some sanity and adults in charge.

[@wtk6069]

Maybe Naboo is just like Earth where absolutely nobody could possibly do a worse job than establishment politicians. A fourteen-year-old kid....an orange senior citizen. Anything beats the same old same old, right?

[@zztopz7090]

Trump is doing a great job. The economy speaks for itself.

[@bean3029]

I think someone said that children had more simple wisdom because they wouldn’t overthink solutions to problems like adults would

[@godzilla5006]

Kaiju attack pacific rim explained

[@ardent3300]

merry christmas! Ecks may the force be with u

[@scytheseven9173]

Do a Yuuzhan Vong invasion of Fluidic Space and war against Species 8472(the Undine)! *100th try.*

[@Game...007]

8472 would totally win.

[@evenl.b4409]

Scythe Seven I bet it’s not your 100th try...

[@scytheseven9173]

Oh yeah? Go through his other videos. You'll find 99 others. Probably. I don't know if any of Ecks's videos have been taken down. You might find ~97 others if that's the case.

[@becloy7506]

@EckhartsLadder You left out an important, although small, piece of information over why the kings/Queens of Naboo are usually so young. On Naboo, there is a belief that children are uncorrupted and fair. It's why so many levels of their democracy are controlled by young children. The term "innocence of childhood" is taken to the extreme, with the populous believing that children will always make a better deal for their people/planet because they don't have the agenda's that many adult politicians do. Naboo is historically neutral, and while an active and respected part of the Republic (and then later quietly helping the Rebels), they aren't beholden to any other federation or group of systems and so performs almost like the Chiss or the Hapes Consortium, in that they are fairly self governing and self reliant for most things. This means that children can successfully rule as there are no previous agreements for them to have to navigate around, and while they do have to look after complicated matters, they will always choose the deal that is best for their people and their people alone. Yikes, that was a long comment!

[@joeykirkpatrick224]

#AskEck could the Droid Army invade the Halo Galaxy? also: Merry Christmas Eck.

[@MrMcp1995]

The Guardians have an absolute field day.

[@itsyaboidaniel2919]

I like this question,

[@ismata3274]

depends, if that anti life thing considers ai living, no they cant. if it does not, they can. but they would not fight, just sit and wait. they wouldnt waste fuel unnecessarily.

[@itsyaboidaniel2919]

@@ismata3274 I think you mean the Logic Plague. I think it's main use was actually against AI, so I think some of the more sophisticated AI could be subverted, but some of the more typical droids like the B1 Battle Droid, would simply be too stupid to really care about anything the Flood has to say, and would just shoot away until they are dealt with.

[@ismata3274]

@@itsyaboidaniel2919 ........ 🤔😊👍 well thats their modus operandi, why would they change, true. and i would love to see a video of that. 😄

[@squadie1]

Well there is the book Star Wars: Queen''s Shadow which is expected to come out early March next year so hopefully we’ll find out some good canon stuff in it.

[@cirbam2747]

They just like lolis

[@4523167098]

_FBI OPEN UP_

[@Sasuri]

Ravioli Ravioli dont elect the Naboo loli

[@sharko4093]

She certainly loses the loli form in Attack of the clones, that white jumpsuit tho

[@snowgentleman1937]

Shotacon Star Wars - Return of the Lolis

[@rebelappliance771]

*”Imperial intelligence open up!”*

[@timbartschwolfman]

Merry Christmas Eckharts Ladder

[@CKM1909]

Blimey, I thought she was 19.

[@tomcopple7633]

Good video, and thanks for it. I always wondered why someone on Naboo would consciously say, "I am going to vote for a 14 year old child as leader," but now I know.

[@nrrork]

Without watching the video first, I'm guessing it was ALL part of the long con to get a naive, easily-manipulated head of state on this planet. The BEST explanation is Lucas just made a bad movie.

[@Lotuswalker]

- "Soo we now have 10 Billion Credits in taces this year. How should we spent it?" - "Candy. Tons and tons of candy." - "But we need..." - " I said Candy, so buy it. I am the Queen after all:"

[@mxplixic]

"Presenting Queen Veruca Salt!" :)