7 Things You Never Knew About Princess Leia

Princess Leia is one of the greatest characters ever created. She is a princess, a general, a mother, and a Jedi. She has led rebellions, platoons, covert operations, and New Republics. We have seen her do a lot over the years through the movies, but there are a few things that we don’t explicitly see in the Star Wars movies that may be unknown to many fans.

7. Leia Does Not Enjoy The Idea Of Royalty

We know Princess Leia is really royalty on two accounts (from her adoptive parents and her birth mother). However, this is not something she loves about her life. As a child and young adult, she is often made to learn about royal manners and protocols, which she hates. She often rebels against these and rejects that part of her life altogether in some instances. She is much more interested in the politics of the galaxy rather than being a royal figurehead for one planet.

6. Leia Is Trained In Combat At A Young Age

Yes, Leia is royalty, but that doesn’t mean she is content to hide behind guards all of her life or let everyone else do the fighting. Obviously, we have seen her get confrontational on more than one occasion in the films. However, this starts from a young age for Leia. Likely fearing the danger their daughter would be in because of her family, at age sixteen, Leia is allowed to train in self-defense. This becomes a large part of her teens as she trains vigorously. As a matter of fact, she would sometimes skip her royal training in order to go do her combat training.

5. She At One Point Has A 10 Million Credit Bounty On Her Head

There are a lot of things that we don’t get to see in the films. One of the biggest questions for people is what happens in between the original trilogy films. Some comics and stories have given us some answers. One of these reveals is that the Empire put a 10 Million credit bounty on Leia’s head when they find out she survived the destruction of Alderaan. The Empire has begun issuing bounty rewards for all the survivors of the planet’s destruction, and this especially includes the one most closely associated with the Empire.

4. She Goes To Naboo

Shortly after the fall of the Empire, Leia is tasked with a diplomatic mission to Naboo with Poe Dameron’s mother. While she is there, they experience a blackout and soon learn that all orbital sensors have been jammed. This they quickly discover is Operation Cinder. This also means that Leia survives Operation Cinder, which is a bonus interesting fact.

3. Darth Vader Is Revealed As Her Father To The New Republic

During the New Republic era, Leia runs for First Senator on a small planet called Birren. However, a rival politician and secret spy for the First Order named Lady Carise desperately wants the spot. In order to discredit Leia and smudge her campaign, she reveals to one of Leia’s closest supporters (who hated Vader) her lineage. Later, this is revealed to the senate, which turns against Leia, thus ruining her future political career.

2. She Takes The Bounty Hunter Armor She Wears From Another Bounty Hunter

If you are like me, when you saw Leia wearing the bounty hunter armor in Return of the Jedi, you probably thought she bought it, but you would be wrong. In the time between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Leia travels to a planet called Ord Mantell to ask Maz Kanata for help to free Han from Jabba the Hutt. While there, they are attacked by the bounty hunter Boushh. They are able to quickly defeat him, and Leia is able to take his armor and leaves to, presumably, save Han.

1. Yoda Originally Wants To Train Leia Instead of Luke

We learn in the Star Wars book From a Certain Point of View that Yoda originally wants Leia, not Luke, to be the Skywalker he trains. Yoda has often envisioned himself passing the lightsaber on to Leia to take down the Sith. We see Yoda point out the flaws of Luke in Episode V when he calls Luke out for being impatient and quick to anger. He sees too much of Anakin in Luke and fears Luke may go down the same path as his father. However, he feels that Leia possesses all the qualities of a potential Jedi master. He points to her demeanor, strong will, and determination. Of course, we know who eventually gets trained by Yoda, but it is interesting to think about the Jedi hero we almost had.

Written By Alex Lenzini

Syndicated From Culture Slate

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