Near the end of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, we see a funeral procession taking Padme Amidala’s body to her mausoleum.
As her body lies in the casket, it appears that she is still pregnant, even though she gave birth to twins moments before her death.
With this in mind, why does she still look pregnant during her funeral?
Padme’s body was prepared in such a way so that it would look like she was still pregnant when she died. This was done to hide the existence of her children, Luke and Leia, from their father, who became Darth Vader.
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Is Padme Pregnant During Her Funeral?
Though we witness Luke and Leia’s birth in Revenge of the Sith, some fans have wondered if Padme could still be pregnant when she dies.
After all, she dies a few minutes after giving birth to the twins; is it possible she could have still been pregnant with a third baby?
This is a believable theory, but it is not the case.
Padme was no longer pregnant when she died, so she could not have been pregnant during her funeral.
We have confirmation of this in Star Wars comics, when Doctor Aphra visited Commodex Tahn, the mortician who prepared Padme’s body. Tahn confirmed that Padme gave birth to a boy, though he did not mention she’d had twins.
He also confirmed that he had been given the task of making Padme still appear pregnant for her funeral.
Why Does Padme Look Pregnant During Her Funeral?
This brings up another question: why go to so much trouble? Why were such pains taken to make it look as though Padme was still pregnant?
Remember, Luke and Leia were born right after their father, Anakin Skywalker, fell to the dark side and became Darth Vader. Vader, along with Emperor Palpatine, destroyed most of the Jedi during Order 66.
Yoda and Obi-Wan, two surviving Jedi, knew that the children would be Force-sensitive and that their father would search for them if he knew they were alive. He would attempt to raise them in the ways of the Sith.
Yoda and Obi-Wan agreed that Luke and Leia should be split up and raised anonymously to protect them from their father. Senator Bail Organa, one of the few who knew of the twins’ birth, agreed to take Leia; meanwhile, Obi-Wan took Luke to his extended family on Tatooine.
Again, keep in mind that very few people knew Padme had given birth. Keeping this secret was a crucial part of protecting the children from Vader.
In the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, Yoda states that Padme’s body must be made to look pregnant for her funeral. This was the last public view anyone would have of her and was meant to confirm that her baby (or babies) died with her.
This fact would prevent Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine from suspecting Vader’s Force-sensitive children were alive in the galaxy and, thus, prevent them from searching for the children.
The culture of Padme’s own homeworld, Naboo, played into this deception nicely. On Naboo, it was tradition to refrain from asking questions involving a deceased person.
With this in mind, no one–not even Padme’s family–would have tried to get answers about her children or who fathered them. Doing so would have gone against tradition.
So, only a few people knew that she gave birth. Thanks to Yoda and Obi-Wan’s precautions, aided by the no-questions-asked policy of Padme’s own people, no one learned the truth after the fact–at least, not for many years.
Conclusion
Padme Amidala was not still pregnant during her funeral. She appeared to be pregnant because it was necessary to hide the fact that she gave birth moments before her death.
To keep Luke and Leia safe from Darth Vader, Yoda presumably made the arrangements for Padme’s body to be prepared in such a way that she would still appear pregnant.
Commodex Tahn carried out these preparations, and he managed to conceal the fact that Padme gave birth to twins. Obi-Wan and Yoda split up the twins, who were then raised anonymously, with no knowledge of their background until they reached adulthood.
Sarah Hood is a freelance content writer and editor with a love for all things Star Wars. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, singing, and spending time in the great outdoors.