The Royal Palace of Alderaan, also known as the Mountain Palace, served as the Royal Family's ancestral residence on the planet of Alderaan. Situated in the capital city of Aldera within an area of the planet, the palace overlooked a scenic lake and was surrounded by snow-covered mountain peaks. A nearby forest was a place where Princess Leia would often escape to during her childhood. The palace, along with the entire planet, met its end during the events of 0 BBY when the Galactic Empire's Death Star battle station unleashed its destructive power upon Alderaan, resulting in its destruction.
The Royal Palace, found in the region encompassing Aldera, had its most ancient sections constructed more than a millennium prior to 3 BBY. Over time, new rooms were added approximately every few decades. In its final years, the palace stood as a testament to the complete history and progression of Alderaanian architecture, in addition to the extravagance of royalty. The palace's throne room was the site of the heir's Day of Demand ceremony for countless generations, and in earlier eras, the prince or princess had to battle their way to the throne room.
Breha Organa spent her formative years in the palace, often comparing the palace's grand entrance hall to the interior of a seashell, noting its smooth, shimmering surface and consistently cool temperature, even in the middle of summer.
By 27 BBY, the palace was home to Queen Breha and her consort, Bail Organa. That year, the Queen invited Bail's associate, Padmé Amidala, the senator representing the Chommell sector and former monarch of Naboo, to visit her on Alderaan for a week. Breha welcomed the group in the palace throne room, after which they had breakfast on one of the palace balconies with a view of Appenza Peak. During their stay, Amidala and her companions were given opulent suites within the palace. Amidala's suite featured a receiving room with a window overlooking Aldera. Sabé, Amidala's handmaiden, would often sneak out of her room to spend time with Tonra, with whom she was romantically involved.
During her time at the palace, Amidala and Queen Breha had conversations about children. Breha explained that she and her husband had decided against having biological children due to injuries she had sustained as a teenager and Bail's demanding schedule in the senate if she were to become pregnant. Amidala expressed her desire to find a relationship similar to that of her parents, Ruwee and Jobal Naberrie, or at least her own version of it, rather than having a child without a partner like her sister, Sola, had done. Breha also mentioned that, because Naboo's monarchy was elective and Alderaan's was hereditary, Amidala's children would not be as bound to politics as Breha's would be.
In 21 BBY, the palace was the venue for the Alderaan Refugee Conference, which addressed the increasing number of refugees during the Clone Wars. Bail, Senator Mon Mothma, and Amidala were the hosts of the conference. During the conference, Aurra Sing, a bounty hunter, attempted to assassinate Senator Amidala, but Ahsoka Tano, a Jedi Padawan who had accompanied Amidala after experiencing Force visions of the event, stopped her. Tano disguised a luxury droid as Amidala while the real Amidala communicated through a droid in another room.
In 19 BBY, Viceroy Bail and Queen Breha adopted Leia Amidala Skywalker, the daughter of their friend Padmé Amidala and former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who had become the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Bail presented the infant to her new mother for the first time on one of the palace's balconies.
Leia was formally inducted into the royal family on her Name Day, which was held in the palace throne room. Her adoption was public knowledge, but everyone, including Leia, was told that her birth father had died in one of the final battles of the Clone Wars and her birth mother had been severely injured, living only long enough to give birth to her. As a young child, Leia enjoyed exploring the most hidden and remote passages of the palace, and by the time she was sixteen, she knew every hallway and door by heart. As she grew up, Breha also tried to teach Leia that life in the palace could be isolating, explaining that she was too young to understand how their happy home could ever be lonely. Due to the separation between those who lived in the palace and those who did not, she knew the princess didn't have many friends her own age. Her parents were her primary companions while growing up, although she occasionally found friends among the cooks' children.
On one occasion, when Princess Leia was a young child, she ran from her bath into the palace's formal dining room during a diplomatic dinner, prompting her nanny droid WA-2V to pursue her. Bail Organa also had an aquarium installed in his office to entertain young Leia, who was fascinated by the brightly colored sea creatures.
At one point, the thieving sisters Brea and Senni Tonnika broke into the palace with the intention of stealing the royal jewels. However, they were discovered because of their orange attire, which they had mistakenly believed would make them appear to be housemaids, and they were forced to hide in a dumpster for two days.
Some time after her fourth birthday, Leia received her "big girl bed," although she needed 2V's help to climb into it. She decided that she was too old to sleep in her parent's bed anymore, an action which she stopped, except when she fell ill and on one occasion when she watched a holo about undead gundarks.
Once, during Princess Leia's childhood, she escaped 2V's care in the palace gardens and ran into the arms of her mother, Breha, who was reading a paper book next to the astromech droid R2-D2, in front of a statue of Padmé Amidala. Breha then told Leia about Amidala, despite the fact that Leia was too young to remember her, including Amidala's time as an Apprentice Legislator and her untimely death. Breha concluded by styling her daughter's hair into two buns on either side of her face and telling her that she had the same spark of hope inside of her that her mother had possessed.
In 10 BBY, a week before her ninth Name Day, Leia hid behind the screens surrounding the palace's banquet hall, where her parents were dining alone. Being young and self-centered, Leia assumed they would be discussing her gifts; in reality, they were laughing and flirting with each other. This caused Leia to quickly leave, embarrassed, to avoid an unwanted lesson in what spouses did together in their private hours. The event prevented Leia from venturing behind the screens again for seven years. Leia also ran away from the palace for the first time when she was nine, fearing that her parents were going to arrange a marriage for her. She spent a week in the woods until her parents' guards found her.
In 9 BBY, the palace was the site of a visit from Queen Breha's sister, Duchess Celly Organa, and her family, including Celly's husband Kayo and their son Niano. Initially, Leia tried to avoid attending the reception by having her handmaiden, Agira, impersonate her while she ran off into the woods near the palace to go shipspotting. After realizing what had happened, Breha retrieved Leia from the woods, and as punishment, Leia's toy droid Lola was turned off, although Leia managed to get her back while hugging Breha as she pretended to apologize. Leia was forced to change into her formalwear in the Alderaan royal speeder, and the pair met with Bail at the Aldera Spaceport to greet Celly and the rest of her family. He asked Leia about the ships she had spotted, but Breha told him not to encourage her.
The families and their entourages proceeded to the reception, where droids, such as C-3PO and Y-O, served them. While there, Bail and Kayo discussed the Empire. Bail expressed his disapproval of the Empire due to issues such as slavery and the taxation of the Outer Rim, but Kayo liked that his profits had increased because of the Empire. Kayo was more interested in eating Bail's food than discussing ending slavery, and told Bail to "save the bleeding heart" for the Senate. To avoid further conflict, Breha offered Bail a drink.
Leia got into an argument with her cousin during the reception. Niano told her that the reason her parents never let her leave the planet was because they didn't want anyone to know about her, and he insisted she wasn't even a real Organa. Leia responded that he was simply afraid of his father; he wanted to earn his approval, so he repeated what he said even when he didn't understand it. She pointed out that Niano thought emulating his father would make people afraid of him, when in reality, he was the one that was scared, and he would never make any decisions for himself.
Bail and Breha took their daughter aside and tried to persuade her to apologize for her words, saying she must rise above. The princess simply responded that she would rather be digested by a jakobeast. On a balcony, Bail talked to his daughter about his childhood dream of living beyond Kathou and chasing purrgil. He spoke about Leia's future at university, Junior Senate, and eventually as Alderaan's queen. He believed that Leia was going to be one of the greatest senators due to her lack of desire to become one. Bail also reassured Leia that she was an Organa in every way, after she expressed doubt over the matter, before convincing her to agree to apologize to her cousin.
However, instead of apologizing, the princess ran back to the woods, dropping her purple overcoat as she ran. Leia unexpectedly encountered the mercenary Vect Nokru and his gang, who had been hired by Third Sister. The mercenaries managed to kidnap her and shoot one of the royal guards who attempted to help the young princess. Leia was eventually returned to the palace by her father's old friend, the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi. Just before reuniting with Kenobi, Queen Breha found the princess wearing a holster that had belonged to Tala Durith, which Kenobi had given to Leia after Durith's death. Breha told her she loved it, and the two met with Bail at the Aldera Spaceport, where the droid Lola was returned to Leia.
In 3 BBY, during the early years of the Rebel Alliance, Queen Breha and Viceroy Bail Organa hosted dinner parties in the palace's banquet hall, which were actually strategy meetings. In that same year, Leia's Day of Demand was held in the palace throne room. Shortly before the Day of Demand, Breha entered Leia's room and placed the Rhindon Sword on Leia's bed. The two had a conversation about love and duty, during which Breha assured her daughter that Leia would be able to choose her own spouse when the time came.
The Day of Demand was announced months in advance, and aromas were prepared for the banquet which traveled throughout the palace halls. Before the ceremony, 2V helped Leia prepare for the Day of Demand, choosing a simple white dress and cape and bold silver jewelry. 2V also styled the princess' hair in a complex traditional style and placed a silver headband on her head, which fit neatly into her braids, its pearl charm resting on the center of her forehead.
On her Day of Demand, Leia carried the Rhindon Sword through the throne room and announced her challenges of the heart, mind and body. For her Challenge of the Heart, she would undertake missions of mercy; for her Challenge of the Mind, she would represent Alderaan in the Apprentice Legislature; and for her Challenge of the Body, she would climb the famous Alderaanian mountain, Appenza Peak, as her mother had done. Several of her father's colleges from the Senate attended Leia's Day of Demand, including Cinderon Malpe of Derella, Tynnra Pamlo of Taris, Mon Mothma, and Mothma's fellow Chandrilan senator, Winmey Lenz. Lord Mellowyn of Birren, a distant relative of Bail's, was also in attendance and kindly told Leia that she had been wonderful after the ceremony was over, though Leia was still upset as she believed her parents were ignoring her and no longer cared for her.
The day after her Day of Demand, Leia left for the planet Wobani, on a mercy mission as part of her Challenge of the Heart. Her plan was to force Major Tedam, the Imperial in charge of Wobani, to allow a hundred Wobani citizens to come with her. She returned with the citizens, whom she had hired as part of her crew. Along with an entourage to assist the refugees, Breha greeted Leia at the Aldera spaceport, demanding that she return to the palace with her. The two retreated to the private library where Breha berated Leia for her decision to go to Wobani without consulting either of her parents, leading her to Calderos Station immediately after a rebel attack. She criticized Leia for the trick she had played on Tedam, which had resulted in Breha receiving angry messages from Imperial officials who did not like the idea of a young girl tricking one of their own. Leia eventually snapped at her mother, asking what kind of person she was if she was angry at Leia for bringing people with her instead of leaving them there to starve. Breha explained that although Leia's actions showed compassion, courage, and ingenuity, they had also set back negotiations in which Bail, Mon Mothma, and several of their allies were advocating for resettlement of the Wobani population. When Breha said the setback was likely to be permanent, Leia was deeply horrified by what she had done.
After Breha left to further work on balancing the royal accounts, Leia momentarily stayed in the library, thinking about what she had done. She attempted to comfort herself with the knowledge that she had still helped a hundred people who would go to bed warm, well-fed, and happy, rather than cold and hungry. When she left the library, Leia walked through the corridor that was connected to Bail's office, in which Leia saw him speaking with Captain Raymus Antilles, and she assumed they were discussing the events on Wobani.
After another mercy mission, this time to Onoam, one of the moons of Naboo, Leia returned to the palace wearing the Jubilation dress lent to her by Queen Dalné. Leia went to the library to speak with her parents, asking them if they were involved in the recent death of Quarsh Panaka that she had just witnessed. The question angered Bail, and Breha took Leia to the palace gardens, where she asked Leia about her meeting with Panaka. Breha explained that the assassination was the work of Saw Gerrera and his Partisans, and it resulted from Bail's hesitance to further expand the rebellion. At a dinner party, the Organas and their allies discussed the recent assassination of Quarsh Panaka and whether or not the rebellion should incorporate higher levels of violence. Afterwards, Breha approached Leia in her room, where she was brushing her hair on her window seat. Amidst the discussion that followed, her mother commented her belief that it was good for a girl fall for a scoundrel now and then.
The Organas hosted another dinner party in the Royal Palace, with Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin in attendance. In an attempt to hide the true purpose of the dinner party, Queen Breha pretended to drunkenly accuse her husband of having an affair with his senatorial colleague Mon Mothma of Chandrila, implying that he'd had an affair the year before with a girl from Corellia.
A few months after her Day of Demand, Leia had her coronation to become Crown Princess of Alderaan by means of bestowing the Heir's Crown, following the completion of all three of her challenges. In attendance was Ress Batten and Mothma, along with Leia's friends from the Apprentice Legislature, Amilyn Holdo of Gatalenta and Chassellon Stevis of Coruscant. Leia also became a member of the Organas' rebellion against the Empire.
In 0 BBY, as plans were being made for the equinox celebrations in three weeks, Queen Breha was in a meeting with her advisor Visaiya to discuss her schedule, but she struggled to focus because she was concerned about Bail and Leia, who had been gone for several days. Visaiya noticed her worry, and Breha asked her to cancel her appointments for the remainder of the day. Breha attempted to retreat to the royal apartments, but on her way, she was unexpectedly confronted by 2V, minister of finance Lintreyst, and Leia's old tutor droid, CZ-7OB.
Breha entered the apartments, where her youngest attendant, Falena, was practicing her lute, and the guards outside lowered their halberds to prevent the others from entering. Breha then reminded Minister Lintreyst that the funds for the upcoming equinox gala had been allocated months earlier. She told 2V that the draper could take one of her old dresses out of storage for Leia to wear, as it was possible the princess would not even attend the gala, not wanting to waste time on creating a new garment from scratch. Breha also agreed to 2V's request that the draper add embellishments to the dress. When she invited CZ-7OB into the apartments, the droid informed her that he had discovered a discrepancy in Princess Leia's diplomatic records—her profile stated she was fluent in both Huttese and Shyriiwook, while in reality, the princess was only proficient in Shyriiwook. Breha reassured the droid that he was not to blame for Leia's failure to study more rigorously, saying she couldn't imagine a scenario in which fluent Shyriiwook would benefit Leia.
Soon after, the pair were interrupted by Bail's arrival, who embraced his wife and dismissed CZ-7OB, instructing him to fix the record. The two discussed the recent rumors about the rebel events on Scarif and the dissolution of the Imperial Senate. Bail informed Breha that the Tantive IV had been destroyed, but Breha refused to believe that her daughter was dead and would not accept any report until she had seen the wreckage herself. The two attempted to comfort each other before going to bed.
Two days passed, and the couple's search for the remains of the Tantive IV, along with their quest to learn what happened to their daughter, proved fruitless. They then received a garbled holo-transmission from Captain Anderam, who alerted them to the presence of a large object moving into orbit above the planet. Rushing to the nearest balcony, they witnessed an eclipse as the Empire's planet-destroying battle station, the Death Star, loomed over the planet, obscuring the sun. Realizing their imminent demise, they accepted their fate, comforting each other in their final moments with the belief that Leia was still alive. The palace, along with all its inhabitants and contents, blew up when Grand Moff Tarkin gave the order to destroy Alderaan shortly before the Battle of Yavin, forcing Princess Leia, held captive aboard the Death Star, to be a witness.
While on a mission with Evaan Verlaine, one of Breha's former students, to find surviving Alderaanians after the planet's destruction, Princess Leia recalled a memory from her childhood in the palace, where her father was trying to get her to eat ruica.
Later, after becoming engaged to Han Solo in 4 ABY, Leia reflected on the loss of Alderaan, which meant their wedding couldn't take place in the palace, but instead on the distant forest moon of Endor. She frequently remembered the small details she had lost in the destruction of Alderaan, like the aroma of flowers in the palace courtyard, the imperfection of the chipped stone on her bedroom balcony, and the sweetmallow cakes that were once delivered to her room.
The palace stood in Aldera's capital, Aldera City, extending into the crisp mountain air, and was situated close to a sizable forest. Over the centuries, the Royal Palace had new rooms added, making it an expansive and complex maze where modern spaces, such as data centers and holochambers, existed alongside ancient stone rooms. Despite having towers and spires, the palace wasn't designed to dominate the surrounding area. The palace hallways were wide and inviting, with no intimidating design elements, matching the exterior. The Rhindon Sword and a detailed water sculpture were housed in the palace, along with a somber-colored landscape painting of Appenza Peak next to a lake. The Crown of Alderaan was usually in a museum, but it was occasionally displayed in the royal palace's throne room for special events, like the heir's Day of Demand.
The grand entrance hall featured a gallery with tall windows. The majority of the interior stonework was a smooth, shiny, silvery-blue color. The hall always had a slightly cool temperature, even in the middle of summer. These qualities reminded Queen Breha of the inside of a seashell when she was a child.
The throne room, a sizable chamber with large panes of stained glass, could hold over two hundred people. A blue-and-gold carpet ran directly through the room to a raised platform, where the sovereign's and their consort's golden thrones were positioned. The throne room had its own antechamber, which could be accessed via a shortcut through the palace's old armory. A door at the back of the throne room led to an outdoor terrace that offered a beautiful view of the lake and mountains. Candledroids provided the room's lighting.
One of the palace's oldest rooms was the banquet hall. Originally, lamps and candles lit the room, and living servants, rather than droids, were used. The banquet room's walls were adorned with intricately carved screens made of pale stone. These screens, while fashionable when they were built, were specifically made for eavesdropping. Tiny openings, angled to amplify sound from the hall into small passages between the carved screens and the inner walls, were hidden by the stone's natural indentations and shadows.
The royal library was a large room with a high ceiling. It featured long, narrow windows, a spherical hearth made of copper and stone in the center, a long, low couch that curved around the east wall, and large leather chairs by the far window. One of the windows overlooked the palace gardens, where glow candlewick flowers could be seen. Tall bronze doors marked the entrance to the library. Although not as impressive as the public Royal Library of Alderaan, the private library held datacrons from various worlds and eras, shelves filled with antique paper books on subjects like philosophy and [history](/article/historian], and constellation globes of different star systems. The royal family used the royal library as a private area to relax, allowing them to appear more like a normal family, and the room contained their personal treasures and memories.
The palace gardens featured a large central courtyard with elaborately designed beds of ferns and flowers, including the night-blooming candlewick flowers, which bloomed in the spring, and blue starflowers. Statues of pure-white marble, framed by arrangements of ivy, were nestled within the greenery. Polished stone benches were also available for visitors to rest on. A circular plot surrounded by a glazed wall, featuring a statue of Queen Amidala of Naboo at its center and a bench nearby, was one notable area of the gardens.
Princess Leia considered the gardens most beautiful during the winter, when the snow resembled a "blanket of lace" covering the garden. However, she also found them beautiful in late spring, when the candlewick flowers were in bloom.
Viceroy Bail Organa's office was large enough to accommodate a desk, chairs, and an aquarium filled with brightly colored sea creatures, which he had installed to entertain his daughter when she was young. Like many other rooms in the palace, the office had a traditional door that was opened and closed manually.
Queen Breha's private stateroom was flanked by the private library and the large public stateroom. The room, one of the oldest parts of the palace still in use, was relatively small, with stone walls, exposed wooden rafters, and a fireplace that ran almost the entire length of the room and was deep enough to walk into. Thick, hand-woven rugs covered the stone floor.
The corridor leading to the royal apartments was filled with plants. Two armored sentinels, each carrying a halberd, guarded the tall, arched doors leading to the apartments, standing on either side. The apartments consisted of an antechamber filled with plants and flowers, followed by a greeting salon and a short, curved corridor that led to a private balcony with a marble railing. The balcony offered a view of the Juran Mountains and the valley between the range and the palace.
Leia Organa's childhood bedroom was located high in a tower. It featured a window seat with a view of Appenza Peak and a mantel where the young princess kept her keepsake chest, which held various childhood mementos. The room also had a balcony where a young Leia had become caught up in a pretend sparring match, resulting in a chipped stone.
There was also a vanity table, where the princess's attendant droid, WA-2V, helped her prepare, and a jewelry cabinet, which included a pair of silver cuff bracelets, and a silver headband with a pearl charm that Leia wore for her Day of Demand. The bed was carved from priceless Glee Anselm hardwoods and inlaid with thin, curling lines of pure gold and silver. While the bed was a relic of a more extravagant era when monarchies would waste money on splendor, the room itself was considered simple.
The palace's south terrace overlooked the River Wuitho and the smaller villages on the outskirts of Aldera. Vines of candlewick flowers grew around the terrace rails. The royal family occasionally dined on the south terrace.
Bail and Breha Organa's shared bedroom contained a huge bed, as well as a centuries-old mural painted on the ceiling depicting old-fashioned spaceships flying towards the sun. The palace's old armory contained a shortcut that led to the antechamber of the palace throne room.
The palace also included a kitchen and cellar, as well as a landing pad, conference room, and a courtyard with fragrant flowers. A balcony where Bail Organa first introduced Leia to his wife was also part of the palace. There was a charging station for the attendant droid WA-2V, and at one point, the palace also had dungeons.
The palace had a white-colored room where handmaidens would assist Princess Leia in dressing in formal attire. The room featured a balcony with several potted plants and windows on either side of the balcony entrance. Nearby, a blue-and-gold stool sat in front of a desk decorated with gemstones, and a bookshelf mirrored the setup on the opposite side of the balcony entrance. The room's walls also included built-in shelves painted in a variety of colors, and it was accessed through an automated door. A bed with blue-colored sheets and lamps on either side was located near the built-in shelving.
In addition, there was a round reception room in a separate building from the rest of the palace. The room had a white-and-gold ceiling, floor-length windows around the walls, a blue-and-gold pattern on the floor, and several potted plants.