Queen Leia?

According to the Wookiepedia, Leia is next in line as Queen with the death of her adopted mother on the original Alderaan. Now, there is a new Alderaan with citizens. Citizens of Alderaan that escaped by not being on the original when the D-Star came.

So, I'm curious as to why she didn't. To continue the Legacy. Or did someone else step up?

 

She was intended to be Queen of the Empire, but that idea died pretty quickly

 

Well considering Alderaan was a constitutional monarchy verging on democracy by the time Bail Organa was Viceroy, the citizens of New Alderaan probably took the next step and went democratic. Moreover, it was an ersatz settlement inhabited by pro-New Republic Alderaanians, so its likely that a type of republican government was implemented.

Or Leia, being Minister of State and later Chief of State, simply didn't have the time to be a dignitary, or even a local ruler. She was too busy fighting the Empire to sit on a throne wearing a crown and holding a scepter.

 

That was the misty past. I wish she would have done something besides wars. I am sick of someone of her stature serving hot chocolate to everyone. She ain't the frikking help. Seriously.

 

That's so weird. I reread Dark Empire for the first time in a few years the other day. I hit the New Alderaan part and I assumed it blew up early as I never heard much about it again. Funny that the Bantam writers just didn't want to run with New Alderaan and the Del Rey writers don't acknowledge it at all.

Yeah, Leia Solo. Her life a concession to playing co-pilot to Han Solo. It's too late now.

 

Well, it was in the Jedi Academy Trilogy-Furgan and his stormtroopers attacked it, attempting to kidnap Anakin.

Don't recall a mention of the place after that, though.

 

I remember some sources referencing a second New Alderaan.

Still, Alderan's government confuses me. I am not even sure if it has kings and queens or if it is one of those places ruled by princes and princesses. More importantly, I am not sure whether or not the monarch is the actual ruler. I mean, yes Bail was the planet's leader, and its king, and its representatives, but king wasn't his only title (matter of fact, he had enough titles to make a third world dictator blush), and I don't know which of those titles he inherited and which he was elected too.

 

I always found it weird that people still referred to her as "Princess Leia" even 20-40 years after the destruction of Alderaan.

 

Well, according to the Wook, Bail was a "Prince Consort" and married to Queen Breeha. But shouldn't that have made him a king?

So, I guess basically Leia was just too busy with other things.

 

No more than being married to Queen Victoria made Prince Albert a king, or being married to Queen Elizabeth II makes Prince Philip a king.

 

No. See Prince Consort.

Though, ironically, Victoria wanted Albert to be styled as a King Consort. I'm pretty glad she didn't get her way....

 

It's suggested that New Alderaan was reclaimed after Palpatine's final death, according to the Wook article. Jan Dodonna died there in 24 ABY, so there had to be some kind of resettlement, unless he was alone in a cabin or something.

But yes, Alderaanian society - its ideals, its strong voices for democracy, its love of the arts - seems to have ... vanished, in the post-DE scheme of things. Viqi Shesh makes a droll little mental note in SbS as she looks at some Alderaanian flowers outside H/L's apartment that "Given the viccisitudes of disease and cross-pollination, they were, like so many things Alderaanian these days, gradually dying out."

As to the central question: Leia, IMHO, has never been that much into the regal side of her role. She can do her duty very well, be very poised, be royal, but we tend to see her more when she's aggressively negotiating, especially in the OT.

It's been noted in the EU that she didn't like her aunts' fussiness when she was younger; and later, during DT, Leia tried to be a Jedi, so much so that she achieved that goal (not that it was ever outside the realm of possibility that she WOULD become a Jedi, but for years, she'd focused more on politics).

Leia is action-oriented; she's her father's daughter, but as able to throw around political judo as she is at shooting stormtroopers. Combine that with Han being ... Han ... and no wonder they haven't retired at their age.

And as Viqi notes, Alderaan's surviving population was very small. Out of about 2 billion, an estimated 60,000 survivors remained, mostly by dint of being offworld at the time. The massacre at Ejolus of an Alderaanian settlement (in one of the DH comics) had to have lowered the number further, and Alderaanians who attempted the Return ceremony at the Graveyard asteroid field were often captured by Imperials (to an uncertain end).

Delaya, the third world in the Alderaan system, sounds rather like the ant to Alderaan's grasshopper. From the Wook:

Delaya was so close to Alderaan, it was clearly visible in Alderaan's sky. Alderaan outsourced much of its industry to Delaya, creating a planet with a large population and many urban areas filled with factories and warehouses as well as homes. Delaya's busy economy attracted workers from many species, including Bothans, Besalisk, Ryn, and Humans. After the destruction of Alderaan, Delaya was the only planet in the system that supported life.

It'd be interesting to get a story, or an article, set on Delaya, examining their perspective on keeping Alderaanian culture alive ... and, also, something more on New Alderaan's status.

 

Though, ironically, Victoria wanted Albert to be styled as a King Consort. I'm pretty glad she didn't get her way....

There is precedent however -Phillip of Spain received the title "King of England" when married to Mary I, and William of Orange was made co-monarch with his wife, Mary II. It was only really with Queen Anne that they settled on the fact that consorts would not receive the title.

Regardless, The Thrawn Trilogy specifically says that Bail is ruling in his own right, so why he is a Prince and his wife is a Queen is strange, but probably some bizarre constitutional quirk on Alderaan.

 

Because George made him a prince? IIRC, another of Bail titles is Viceroy.

And Leia was to be crowned queen of her people. In Episode XI. Ask Gary when you see him at CV.

 

....She was President of Everything. For like 2/3rds of the Bantam EU.

 

Because George made him a prince?

And he also confused "Your Majesty" and "Your Highness" when referring to reigning monarchs, but if we're looking for an IU answer, we can't just say, "George Lucas doesn't really understand monarchies and just uses titles that he thinks sound cool."

 

Can you explain to me how a "constitutional monarchy" is necessarily different, and apparently a step down, from a democracy? Because I live in Canada and I, like, vote. All the time. But based on your comment, it seems like because my Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II means that I live in an undemocratic system. Constitutional monarchies are democracies in almost every way, because it's the democratically-created constitution that gives -and limits- the powers of the monarchy, who act more as figureheads and symbols of leadership than anything, although they do have real power that is, again, provided in the Constitution (case in point: Canada's Governor-General (representative of the Head of State) has the power to prorogue, that is to say temporarily shut down, Parliament, and has done so twice since 2008.

So yeah, there is no reason to suspect that Alderaan was "verging on democracy" and simply abandoned the monarchy on New Alderaan. If anything, I would say that a preserved monarchy would act as a rallying-call, to say loud and proud that Alderaan Lives, and that all its citizens still had a home.

 

Regardless, there's no evidence Alderaan was a democracy, or that it was even moving towards democracy.

 

Except perhaps the fact that it was in the Republic? Would the Republic tolerate one of its most prominent members to be undemocratic?

Also factor in the attitudes of Bail Organa, who is clearly in favour of democracy. Member of the loyalist committee, actively resistant to Empire. It seems a bit phony to have a strict monarchical planet be so against Imperialism.

Also, according to Wookieepedia (and I've been checking the various links, and it looks properly sourced) Alderaan is governed as a constitutional monarchy, with a democratically elected High Council of Alderaan. It looks like any constitutional monarchy to me.

 

The Republic didn't give a hoot what kind of local government you have. Remember, this is a government that tolerated slavery on Ryloth as a cultural tradition. There were plenty of monarchies in the Republic; it never bothered anybody. Primarily because monarchy does not mean evil; there's no reason why a benevolent monarch should be in favor of a tyrannical authoritarian government just because both involve a monarchical head of state.

 

I'll give you that. I was going to ask for specific examples, but then remembered most recently Duchess Satine, who I'm almost positive wasn't elected (who elects a Duchess?)

But my point still stands on Alderaan as a democratic constitutional monarchy. The legislative body, the High Council of Alderaan, was a democratically elected group. So really, like any constitutional monarchy, the legislature is elected whereas only the executive branch is not. Exactly like the UK, Canada, etc.

 

Even then, I think I remember it being said that Bail was elected to the position of Viceroy. I think King and Queen are purely ceremonial, but royal family members are allowed to run for other positions.

What is more confusing is that Bail is also a senator. You think being the head of an entire planet would be enough full time work that it wouldn't leave any time for also being a senator, and acting in the interest of the Republic at large. Then again, if Alderaan is as peaceful and prosperous as they say, then maybe being the head of the executive branch is pretty boring.

About Duchess Satine...well, who elects a king or queen? (Besides the Holy Roman Empire). I think we have to accept that in Star Wars, it is relatively common that monarchical and noble titles are used for elected positions. And on that note, I think we have seen a few dictatorships that use democratic titles

Plus, personally, I would find the idea of the Mandolorians having a Duchess to be weirder than them electing one because...well, where would she come from? The Mandolorians were nomadic warriors, very big on meritocracy. Noble families seem out of place.

 

So, it's entirely a coincidence that in the space of fifty years, the Alderaanian's elected two princes and a princess, all related by marriage, as their galactic representatives?

 

America elected a father and son Bush within how many years?