In the original trilogy, we discover that Princess Leia of Alderaan is actually the sister of Luke Skywalker and daughter of Sith Lord Darth Vader. Due to Anakin’s embrace of the dark side, Leia had been raised by former Senator of the Republic Bail Organa at the request of Jedi Master Yoda.
However, did Senator Organa know who her real father was? Here’s what you need to know.
Did Bail Organa know that Anakin was Leia’s father?
Senator Organa knew all along that Anakin Skywalker was the father of Luke and Leia. There is actually quite a lot to suggest he did, both subtle hints and more substantial evidence present in the prequel trilogy as well as in other canon entries. Here, we’ll go over some of the evidence in favour of this from the prequels, as well as some more definitive proof from more recent canon media.
Here are 4 reasons how Bail knew about Anakin:
#1 He was a close friend and confidante to Padmé
Bail Organa was quite close to Senator Amidala, being her greatest ally in the Senate and likely her closest confidante on Coruscant. In the canon 2008 Clone Wars animated series, this relationship is further developed.
We see that Bail is essentially a father figure in Padme’s eyes.
From this, we can safely assume that she would keep him informed on her affairs, including her wedding and pregnancy.
Additionally, it’s safe to assume that a high-profile politician like Padme would be hard-pressed to keep such details under wraps at all.
This means that her relationship with Anakin (another well-known figure during the Clone War era) and the inconveniences of her secret pregnancy probably became something of an open secret within the Senate.
You can find out more about Anakin and Padmé’s secret marriage here.
Even if this was only a whisper, Bail would likely have asked Padmé about it, assuming the information wasn’t freely volunteered.
#2 He was present when the fate of the twins was decided
After the events of Order 66 and the confrontation between the newly christened Vader and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, the victorious Jedi Master took his former Padawan’s pregnant but dying wife to a secret base on Polis Massa, where she dies shortly after giving birth to and naming her twin children.
Also present at the facility was Jedi Master Yoda, fresh from his duel with the recently revealed Darth Sidious along with Bail Organa himself, who had been Yoda’s means of escape from Coruscant.
When he sensed the Force potential of the two children, Jedi Master Yoda suggested that the two children be separated and hidden for their own protection.
It was decided between the three that Luke would be raised on Tatooine by his uncle, Owen Lars. Meanwhile, Leia would be adopted by Bail and live with him as his daughter, unaware of her other family.
That said, Bail must have been quite aware of her origins. Given the confidential and emotionally charged nature of this meeting, it’s unlikely that Yoda and Obi-Wan would have kept the truth from Bail, assuming he didn’t already know or have his suspicions.
For one, there needed to be a reason his deceased friend’s son was being sent off to an unknown moisture farmer living in a largely undesirable desert.
For another, the two Jedi would need him to fully understand the need for the level of secrecy they were requesting.
#3 He revealed that he knew all along in a message to his daughter
Possibly the most substantial piece of evidence in favour of my assertion that Senator Organa knew Anakin was Leia’s father comes to us in the Bloodlines novel by Claudia Grey.
This canon novel was released in 2016 and is set some 6 years before the events of the sequel trilogy.
In it, Leia’s political opponents in the new Senate acquire a recording made by Bail in which he confessed the truth of Leia’s parentage to her, intended for her ears only.
While the release of the recording was engineered to harm Leia’s political machinations, it was originally meant to explain the truth of her birth to her, and possibly help her find Luke and the Lars family.
#4 He also mentioned Anakin to Master Kenobi after Leia’s capture
“You couldn’t save Anakin, but you can save her.”
Bail Organa to Obi-Wan Kenobi.
In the Obi-Wan Kenobi live-action series on Disney+, there is a scene where Bail Organa mentions Anakin.
This happens when he reaches out to Obi-Wan to save Leia after she had been captured by mercenary Vect Nokru on the orders of the Third Sister.
He tells Obi-Wan that while the Jedi Master couldn’t save Anakin, he could save Leia. This is a clear indicator that he knew not just of the relationship between Anakin and Leia, but also Vader’s true identity and the part that Obi-Wan played in it.
This little titbit also helps solidify the point in time at which Bail discovered that Anakin was the father.
Considering the point in the timeline where Obi-Wan Kenobi is set, it is apparent that Bail was aware of this at the point of Leia’s birth or very soon after. He could also feasibly have become privy to the secret before the events of Order 66.
Conclusion
With all the evidence it is pretty clear that Bail Organa knew precisely who Leia was, but he took her in as his own child and raised her in a safe, loving home.
It’s lucky for us all that he did, as Leia grew to become one of the most interesting characters in all of Star Wars canon and even in Legends!
With the new wave of content from Disney, here’s hoping we’ll get to see more of Leia and her adopted father.
You can find out more if Bail Organa was considered as a king of Alderaan here.
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