House of Organa

The royal house of Alderaan, a prominent planet situated in the Core Worlds, was known as the House of Organa. As one of the galaxy's royal families, collectively recognized as the Elder Houses, the governance of Alderaan was a hereditary privilege passed down through generations. During the final years of the Galactic Republic, Breha Organa reigned as the Queen of the Alderaanians.

Breha, who was raised in the Royal Palace of Alderaan located in Aldera, the capital city of Alderaan, was the designated successor to the throne. Consequently, she was introduced to Alderaanian pacifist philosophies by her mother. Breha valued peace and became involved in politics from a young age. She once aided the previous queen in treaty negotiations prior to her own reign. As part of Alderaanian custom, Breha was required to participate in the Day of Demand ceremony before claiming her right to the throne of her homeworld. During this process, she suffered injuries to her heart and lungs, which necessitated replacement with pulmonodes. Despite surviving this ordeal, Breha opted for adoption over attempting to conceive a child with her spouse, Viceroy Bail Prestor Organa.

Bail, an idealistic statesman, represented Alderaan as a senator in the Galactic Senate. Throughout his political career, Bail chaired the committee for transportation of construction materials, and his work in transporting materials to the Mid Rim Territories led to acquaintances with fellow senators such as Mon Mothma of Chandrila, Onaconda Farr of Rodia, and Padmé Amidala of Naboo.

The House of Organa included an extended family of fellow statesmen and nobles, such as Breha's sister, Duchess Celly Organa, and her husband, Duke Kayo Organa. Celly and Kayo had a son, Niano Organa, by the time of the Imperial Era. Bail Antilles, a relative of Queen Breha, previously served as Alderaan's senator during the Naboo Crisis. Lord Mellowyn, the supreme governor of Birren, was a distant relative of Bail Organa and, consequently, related to the Royal Family of Alderaan through marriage.

Alderaan sustained its reputation as a peaceful planet throughout Queen Breha's reign, while Bail gained respect on the galactic capital of Coruscant for his integrity and dedication to justice. An idealist at heart, he served on the Loyalist Committee during Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine's administration, hoping to find a diplomatic resolution to the Separatist Crisis. He upheld his loyalist principles throughout the Clone Wars and, driven by his humanitarian nature, supported the Republic by aiding relief efforts and assisting refugees. However, Chancellor Palpatine's accumulation of wartime powers clashed with Bail's political beliefs. While Bail represented Alderaan's interests on Coruscant, Breha remained on Alderaan, where she assumed additional responsibilities as Minister of Education.

During the conflict's early stages, Bail led a relief mission on Christophsis to assist the native population while their planet was under siege by Separatist forces. In addition to his relief work, Bail represented the Republic Senate in matters of diplomacy and trade. At the request of the Jedi High Council, he assisted the Gungan representative Jar Jar Binks in negotiating an agreement with the Toydarians, enabling the Republic to secure its supply lines in the region and provide aid to the Twi'leks of Ryloth. Bail also collaborated with his political ally, Senator Amidala, to better assist the displaced citizens of the Clone Wars. On one occasion, Bail and Amidala co-hosted the Alderaan Refugee Conference on Bail's homeworld.

Bail remained engaged in political matters on Coruscant, inviting Amidala to accompany him to a meeting concerning the Enhanced Privacy Invasion Bill. However, they were taken hostage by the bounty hunter Cad Bane, who threatened the lives of Bail, Amidala, and their colleagues to coerce Chancellor Palpatine into releasing Ziro Desilijic Tiure from prison.

During the war's final days, Bail joined the Delegation of 2,000 in drafting a petition urging the chancellor to relinquish his emergency powers and end the conflict with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Instead of witnessing a restoration of democracy, Bail was horrified by Palpatine's proclamation of the Galactic Empire and began to incite a rebellion against the Emperor.

Princess Leia Organa became a member of the House of Organa as the adopted daughter of Bail and Breha shortly after the Republic transitioned into the Empire. Having discussed adoption as an alternative to a biological heir, Bail and Breha adopted Leia and raised her as their own child. Knowing that Leia's biological parents were the deceased Amidala and the fallen Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Bail kept his daughter's origins a secret to protect her from the Sith.

Even before Leia became involved in her adoptive parents' rebellious activities, she was being prepared as the designated heir to the Alderaanian throne. As a child, she learned about Amidala's history from Breha, although she remained unaware of her biological connection to the late senator of Naboo.

By the age of ten, Leia displayed little interest in her duties as a member of the Royal Family, nor did she aspire to take her father's place in the Imperial Senate. She also attempted to avoid public events and family gatherings, viewing her presence as purely ceremonial. Nevertheless, Bail and Breha endeavored to instill in Leia the importance of preparing for her responsibilities as a princess and future senator.

Bail and Breha had vowed to love Leia unconditionally, and they treated her as their own child in every respect. However, Leia's adoptive cousin, Niano Organa, did not consider her a true member of the Organa family due to her adopted status.

Leia had several adoptive aunts, including Breha's sister, Duchess Celly Organa. These aunts adored Leia but treated her as a mere, docile princess. On one occasion, the young Leia complained to one of her aunts that being a princess should entail more than silently fulfilling one's duty, but her older relative simply replied, with a sad smile, that it accurately described most of a princess's role.

The princess loved her aunts, despite finding their etiquette lessons frustrating and tedious. Leia's aunts disapproved of her joining the Imperial Senate and fantasized about her marrying a prince. In time, Leia came to value her aunts' lessons in public speaking, which boosted her confidence. Despite her aunts' outdated views on what it meant to be a princess, they approved of Leia receiving self-defense training.

During a mission to Sesid, when Princess Leia was forced to climb a volcanic chimney, she humorously thought that her aunts would likely scold her about her appearance if they could see her filthy, half-frozen, and covered in bites.

In 9 BBY, Celly Organa visited the Royal Palace of Alderaan with her entire family, including her husband, Kayo Organa, and their son, Niano Organa. Breha oversaw preparations for the meeting before her sister's arrival at the palace, although Leia attempted to avoid her extended family by switching places with her handmaiden Agira, believing that the Imroosian would amuse her mother. Leia was discovered hiding in the forest by Breha, who compelled the princess to attend the function.

While their parents discussed politics, Leia and her cousin Niano argued over Leia's politeness towards droids, which Niano considered "lower life forms." He also expressed his view of Leia as an outsider, considering her neither a true royal nor a true Organa. Leia, in turn, reproached her cousin for his attitude and his insecurity as the son of Duke Kayo. When Leia admitted that she did not consider herself a true Organa, Bail reassured her, stating that Leia was "an Organa in every way."

Following the altercation between Leia and Niano, the princess was abducted by the mercenary Vect Nokru. Nokru's employer, an Inquisitor known as the Third Sister, had discovered that Bail had worked alongside Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Clone Wars. Kenobi was a high-value target who had survived the destruction of the Jedi Order. While the abduction of an Imperial senator's daughter was not authorized by the leader of the Inquisitorius, the Grand Inquisitor, the Third Sister believed that Kenobi would attempt to rescue Bail's daughter.

Fearing that they would draw the Empire's attention to their adopted daughter, Breha and Bail kept Leia's abduction a secret from the public. They contacted Kenobi for assistance, but the Jedi fugitive was hesitant to resurface, having spent a decade in exile on Tatooine, where he watched over Leia's twin brother, Luke Skywalker. Bail then visited Kenobi in person, persuading the Jedi to rescue his daughter, who had been taken to Daiyu. Kenobi subsequently located Leia, and together, they escaped on a transport. Before leaving the planet, Kenobi learned from the Third Sister that his fallen apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who had assumed the identity of the Sith Lord Darth Vader, had survived their battle on Mustafar.

During the Imperial Era, the House of Organa experienced division between members who supported the Empire and those who opposed it. Unlike Bail and Breha, who secretly rejected Imperial rule, Kayo Organa praised the New Order, noting that the Empire was more profitable financially than the Republic it had replaced. Bail did not dispute his kinsman's statement but remained concerned about issues that persisted in the galaxy, such as slavery and the taxation of the Outer Rim Territories. However, the duke did not share the senator's concerns.

Breha's reign continued for almost two decades during the Imperial Era. She personally mentored students on Alderaan, including the X-wing starfighter pilot Evaan Verlaine. As a protégé of the queen, Verlaine learned extensively about the culture and heritage of her homeworld. Having developed a great deal of respect for the House of Organa, Verlaine was a committed royalist and a supporter of the cause of liberty. Under Breha's rule, Alderaan was among the earliest supporters of rebellion against the Empire, although the planetary government was cautious about openly defying the Emperor.

Though outwardly loyal to the New Order, Bail continued to support the cause of freedom and secretly led a resistance movement against the Empire. Raymus Antilles and former Padawan Ahsoka Tano were among the first recruits to join Bail's clandestine movement. As the Empire consolidated its reign over the galaxy, Bail's operation expanded to include other resistance cells, including Hera Syndulla's Spectres. It was through Bail that the Spectres discovered the existence of a wider rebellion consisting of numerous smaller cells dispersed across the galaxy.

As Breha had done before her, Leia had to complete the Day of Demand ritual to be deemed worthy to ascend to the throne. This ritual involved a trio of trials: the challenge of the body, the challenge of the mind, and the challenge of the heart. Specifically, Leia was expected to scale Appenza Peak, represent Alderaan within the Apprentice Legislature, and embark on charitable endeavors to aid impoverished planets.

Sensing a growing emotional gap between herself and her adoptive parents, Leia yearned to secure their approval through an extraordinary achievement. She requested permission to utilize the Alderaanian diplomatic cruiser Tantive IV for her inaugural relief expedition, setting course for Wobani, a world devastated economically by the Commodities Enhancement Program. Overwhelmed by the widespread destitution and starvation, Leia transported one hundred refugees to Alderaan. While Breha extended a welcome to these displaced individuals, she also rebuked Leia and restricted her to the palace, expressing her displeasure that her daughter had undertaken such a perilous mission without prior consultation. Despite her empathy for the suffering of others, Breha believed that Alderaan could not afford any association with actions deemed rebellious by the Empire.

Unbeknownst to Leia, her father and his allies within the Senate were secretly engaged in negotiations aimed at facilitating the resettlement of Wobani's population. However, Leia's intervention inadvertently thwarted these carefully laid plans. Breha expressed hope that Leia would glean wisdom from this experience and exercise greater prudence in her future endeavors. Shortly thereafter, Leia attended her initial pathfinding lesson, where she encountered Amilyn Holdo from Gatalenta and another Alderaanian, Kier Domadi, who remarked that Leia held herself to a higher standard than others due to her royal lineage.

As his daughter matured, Bail appointed Leia as his aide, entrusting her with assignments crucial to supporting the burgeoning rebellion. On one occasion, Leia was dispatched by her father to Lothal, where she played a pivotal role in securing three Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvettes for the Spectres. As the rebels became increasingly organized, Bail and Senator Mothma formally established the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Leia, having been prepared for a leadership role, succeeded her father in both the Imperial Senate and the Alliance. Jan Dodonna, a general within the Alliance, enjoyed a close friendship with both Breha and Bail.

Despite stepping down to facilitate Leia's advancement, Bail remained actively involved with the Alliance and its escalating conflict with the Empire. By this point, Bail had completely lost faith in the Imperial Senate, regarding it as a mere facade concealing Emperor Palpatine's dictatorial regime. Mothma, however, maintained that a diplomatic resolution was preferable to open warfare as long as the semblance of a Senate persisted. As a member of Alliance High Command, Bail was among the Rebel leaders who received information from Jyn Erso regarding the existence of the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station and its capacity for planetary annihilation. With open war looming, Bail returned to his home planet and dispatched his daughter to enlist the aid of an old ally from the Clone Wars, the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Ultimately, neither Bail nor Breha lived to witness the Alliance's victory over the Empire. Shortly before the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY, Imperial forces intercepted the Tantive IV, and Leia was taken prisoner by the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who suspected the princess's involvement in the theft of the Death Star plans. Even with Leia in custody, the plans remained elusive, concealed by the princess within her personal astromech droid, R2-D2. Seeking to make an example of Alderaan's defiance to the rest of the galaxy, the battle station's commanding officer, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, made the decision to test the superlaser's destructive power on Leia's homeworld, obliterating the entire planet along with billions of Alderaanians and the Royal Family.

Despite the deaths of Queen Breha, her husband, and billions of their subjects during the Disaster, the cause of freedom they championed persisted through their adopted daughter. Leia kept her parents' memory alive, which, in turn, served as propaganda and galvanized support for the Rebellion.

Though devastated by the loss of her family, Leia's determination to realize Bail and Breha's vision of a galaxy restored under democratic rule remained unbroken. Nonetheless, the memory of her homeworld's destruction remained with Leia for the rest of her life, and she would sometimes try to imagine their final moments before the attack that destroyed Alderaan. Following the Empire's downfall, Leia utilized her influence as a member of the New Republic Senate to honor the memory of her adoptive parents, their homeworld, and its people through speeches and events, ensuring that Alderaan's destruction would never be forgotten. During the New Republic Era, Bail and Breha were remembered for their dedication to peace and charity, and were considered martyrs for the cause of liberty.

Following the Galactic Civil War, Leia resumed her political career under the banner of the New Republic, with the hope of guiding the galaxy into a new era of freedom after decades of Imperial oppression. Over time, her personal life came into conflict with her responsibilities as a public official. Leia married the Corellian smuggler Han Solo and gave birth to a son, Ben Solo. As the son of an Alderaanian princess, Solo would have inherited the title Prince of Alderaan had his mother's adopted homeworld and its royal family not been destroyed prior to his birth. As members of the House of Organa, Leia and her son were both recognized by the Elder Houses as entitled to the hereditary rights of the royal house to which they belonged through adoption.

Solo, in addition to being the biological grandson of Anakin Skywalker, was also the adoptive grandson of Bail Organa. He shared many personality traits with his mother, even after his descent into the dark side of the Force as Kylo Ren. During his formative years, Solo experienced neglect from both his parents, who were preoccupied with their respective careers, leading him to develop feelings of isolation and abandonment.

In 28 ABY, Lord Mellowyn passed away without leaving an heir to his position as the symbolic supreme governor of Birren. As the late governor's closest living relatives, albeit through adoption, Leia Organa and Ben Solo were next in line for the succession. However, neither Leia nor her son was in a position to accept the office. At the time, Leia was still serving as a senator, while Solo was undergoing training with the revitalized Jedi Order under the guidance of his uncle and mentor, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Consequently, Lady Carise Sindian claimed the ceremonial governorship by default.

Ultimately, Leia's political career was effectively ruined by the revelation of her true family. Before his death, Bail left behind a secret recording that revealed the identities of Leia's biological parents: the late Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo and her clandestine husband, the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Furthermore, Bail confessed that Anakin had, in fact, succumbed to the dark side of the Force, becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Senator Sindian discovered Bail's message and shared it with her colleague, Senator Ransolm Casterfo, who then broadcast it to the entire Galactic Senate. Leia's connection to the most reviled figure in the galaxy shattered her reputation within the Senate and irreparably damaged her campaign to become First Senator.

Despite possessing the potential to become a model for a new generation of Jedi, Ben Solo was seduced by the dark side of the Force, mirroring his grandfather's fall. Embracing the teachings of Supreme Leader Snoke, he assumed the identity of Kylo Ren, severing all ties with the Jedi and his family. Although a servant of the dark side, the master of the Knights of Ren struggled to resist the pull of the light side of the Force. Ren's efforts to reinvent himself included donning a combat helmet reminiscent of the mask worn by Vader, but beneath the helmet's theatrics, the young warrior remained Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. Solo's descent into darkness fractured his family, leading Han Solo and Leia to separate as they grappled with their grief.

During the rise of the First Order, General Armitage Hux exploited Ren's heritage to gain the trust of Bylsma while stranded on an unknown planet. Having served the royal family as a palace guard before the destruction of Alderaan, Bylsma recognized Ren's mother and adoptive grandfather, and wondered if he was anything like Leia. Hux conceded that Ren did, in fact, share many similarities with his mother, even if he would have denied it. The resemblance between Leia and Ren confirmed the latter's royal lineage, and the Alderaanian soldier assisted Hux in contacting his allies within the First Order.

The hunt for Leia's brother, Skywalker, brought Leia and Han Solo together again after years of separation. During their time apart, Leia had established the Resistance with the aim of keeping the First Order in check, while Han had returned to a life of smuggling, which he considered his only true talent. Following the Hosnian Cataclysm, Leia and her forces engaged the First Order on Takodana, where Han informed the general that he had seen their son during the battle. Contrary to Han's belief that his presence reminded Leia of Ben, Leia never wanted to forget about him. She wanted their son back. She agreed with Han that Ben was too much like his grandfather, Darth Vader, which was why Leia wanted him to learn the Jedi ways from Skywalker. She regretted sending Ben away, however, believing it was a mistake that caused her to lose him as well as her husband.

Although Han believed that Ben was lost, Leia refused to give up on him and insisted that together they could break Snoke's influence over their son. Han was skeptical, not knowing how or if he could save Ben when Luke could not. Leia reassured him that while Luke was a Jedi, Han was Ben's father. Certain that there was still light within her son, Leia beseeched her husband to bring Ben home. It was the last time she saw him before his death. While infiltrating Ilum in hopes of destroying the First Order's superweapon, Han tried to carry out Leia's wish by confronting Kylo Ren. The dark warrior struggled with indecision, but ultimately chose to kill his own father, believing the sacrifice would end his inner conflict. Leia sensed Han die through the Force, and contrary to what Ren thought would happen, the act of patricide weakened him.

Recovering from the defeat on Starkiller Base, Ren redoubled his efforts to crush the Resistance in order to prove his worth to Supreme Leader Snoke. Yet he hesitated when the opportunity to eliminate Leia presented itself, having sensed her fear and concern for him. However, his resolve strengthened by the time he killed Snoke, and as the new Supreme Leader, Ren deployed the First Order Army to Crait with orders to exterminate the remnants of his mother's movement. Determined to win the First Order-Resistance War, Ren was not inclined to give quarter to his enemies, and therefore, ordered his forces to kill every remaining member of the Resistance during the Battle of Crait. The First Order was unable to carry out his orders, however, due to the projected arrival of Luke Skywalker, who sacrificed his life to ensure the survival of his sister and her movement.

In spite of the Resistance's survival, Ren succeeded in consolidating his rule over the First Order. During his reign, the First Order expanded across the galaxy, using its forces to conquer a large amount of territory. Leia sought to rebuild the Resistance by recruiting new allies, such as the Mon Calamari, which her son tried to prevent by adopting a policy of zero toleration toward sympathizers of the Resistance. Believing that the dark side was in his nature, Ren was convinced that it was impossible for him to return to his mother as Ben Solo.

The war between the First Order and the Resistance was interrupted by a galaxy-wide broadcast from the late Emperor, Darth Sidious, who revealed his resurrection years after the Empire was defeated at the Battle of Endor. Leia and Ren both sought to confirm the message's authenticity, with the latter succeeding first by locating the hidden Sith bastion of Exegol. Sidious convinced Ren to form an alliance between the First Order and the Sith Eternal; and in return, he offered Ren a fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers—the Final Order—all of which were armed with axial superlasers capable of destroying entire planets. As a condition, however, Sidious asked Ren to purge the last trace of the Jedi Order by killing the scavenger Rey, who aspired to become a true Jedi through Leia's guidance. In addition to the Sith Armada, Sidious offered Ren his title of Emperor as an incentive to fulfill his mandate as heir to the Sith legacy.

Frustrated with Ren's management of the war, General Hux became a spy for the Resistance in order to undermine the Supreme Leader. He supplied information to the Resistance about Ren's discovery of Exegol, confirming the Emperor's return and the existence of his new fleet. Seeking the path to Exegol as well, the Jedi apprentice Rey embarked on a journey to acquire a Sith wayfinder while her mentor Leia remained on Ajan Kloss overseeing the Resistance. A battle eventually ensued between the son and the apprentice of Leia, respectively, in the Death Star ruins on Kef Bir. Assisted by her advisor, Maz Kanata, the Resistance general devoted her remaining strength in a final concentrated effort to reach her son through the Force.

Her sacrifice was a success; across the galaxy, Ren felt his mother die, causing him to lose focus during the lightsaber duel. Although Rey capitalized on the Supreme Leader's distraction to wound him, she healed Ren after also sensing Leia's death. As Ren contemplated on what had transpired, he found himself confronted by his memory of Han Solo. At first, Ren believed it truly was too late to change his ways, as his mother was dead, but Han told him that while Leia was gone, the cause she devoted her life to was not yet lost. Ultimately, the son of Han and Leia reclaimed his identity as Ben Solo, destroying the side of him that was Kylo Ren. In accordance with Leia's wishes, the title of acting general was granted to Commander Poe Dameron, to whom Leia had symbolically passed her legacy as an Organa by entrusting the Resistance pilot with the organization's future.

Solo returned to Exegol while General Dameron led the Resistance and their allies in an attack on the forces of the Sith Eternal, determined to prevent Sidious' Final Order from conquering the galaxy. While Leia's successor led the Resistance to victory over the Sith Star Destroyers, her son prevented Rey from succumbing to the temptations of the dark side which, in turn, resulted in the reborn Emperor's destruction by the hand of his granddaughter. The effort cost Rey her life, however, leading Solo to sacrifice himself in hopes of saving her. The effort resulted in Solo's death, yet succeeded in reviving Rey—his other half in the Force—who kissed him shortly after coming back to life.

Leia Organa and Ben Solo were the last members in the royal line of Senator Bail Organa and Queen Breha Organa, as well as the Skywalker and Solo families. By the end of her life, Leia had divided her various inheritances as a Skywalker, an Organa, and a Solo between the individuals whom she considered the heirs to her combined legacy. She left the Organa legacy to Dameron by making him the new leader of the Resistance; the Solo legacy passed to her son after Leia's final effort to bring Ben back to the light succeeded; and the Skywalker legacy was left to her apprentice Rey. Though sired from the Emperor's bloodline, Rey had renounced her lineage and assumed the Skywalker name to honor the legacy of Leia's biological family.

Organa Ranch was a large farm that the royal family owned on Alderaan. Its emerald grapes were used to produce high quality emerald wine, which was favored by Imperial officers such as Agent Alexsandr Kallus and Captain Hiram Zataire. The monarchy tended to dress modestly in simple designs and muted colors.

The ship prefix RHA, standing for "Royal House of Alderaan," preceded the names of certain vessels affiliated with House Organa.

Leia Organa's aunts, then named Rouge, Celly, and Tia, were first mentioned in Children of the Jedi, a 1995 novel written by Barbara Hambly and published by Bantam Spectra. In that book, they were introduced as the main caretakers of a teenaged Leia Organa. However, that story is part of the Star Wars Legends continuity, formerly known as the "Expanded Universe," and is therefore not official canon. In 2015, the idea that Princess Leia had several aunts was canonized in A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy, a retelling of the classic Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope story written by Alexandra Bracken. Contrary to their Legends counterparts, the canon aunts were not named, and their number went unmentioned.

In Obi-Wan Kenobi television series, Celly Organa is portrayed by actress Roberta Sparta where she is presented as being the sister of Breha Organa, unlike her Legends counterpart, who was the sister of Bail Organa. In Legends, Breha's sister was called Deara Antilles and was later banished from Alderaan, when it was discovered that she was a spy for Darth Vader.