Palpatine’s “daughter” proves the New Republic made a massive mistake returning to Coruscant after theStar Warsoriginal trilogy.Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkershocked viewers with the revelation thatRey was Palpatine’s granddaughter, although technically the Emperor didn’t have family in the normal way. Instead, Rey was the daughter of Dathan, one of Palpatine’s many failed clones. Palpatine only became interested in her when he learned she had access to the Force.
Precious little has been revealed about Palpatine’s family in canon. The oldStar WarsExpanded Universe, however, revealed a lot more - and even gave him several children. Surprisingly, one member of Palpatine’s extended family has made her way into canon, referenced asclaiming she was Palpatine’s daughter.
Lady Pallopides Claimed To Be Palpatine’s Daughter After His Death
Chris Kempshall’s fantastic bookThe Rise & Fall of the Galactic Empirereveals that, in the years after Palpatine’s first death inReturn of the Jedi, one of Coruscant’s socialites claimed to be his daughter. The book mentions “‘Lady’ (an honorific she gave herself) Ederlatth Nataasias Pallopides, who maintained a presence within the Coruscant elite for years after the war, despite the fact there was no evidence whatsoever linking her to Palpatine.” Lady Pallopides is a deep-cut reference to Legends, where she was Palpatine’s great-niece and was caught up in a plot to restore the Empire.
It’s intriguing to note that Lady Pallopides will have been active inThe Mandalorianera - a time that features the return of the Imperial Remnant underGrand Admiral Thrawn.The Mandalorianseason 3 andAhsokarevealed the New Republic claimed Coruscant as the galactic capital during this era, but we already know there were Imperial spies such as Elia Kane active on the Core World. Although Kempshall’s reference to Lady Pallopides may just be an Easter egg for now, it could easily turn into something far more important going forward.
Lady Pallopides' claim is quite remarkable, in thatit suggests Coruscant’s socialite elite had a lot of Imperial sympathizers. The citizens of Coruscant celebrated Palpatine’s death (at least as perGeorge Lucas' Special Editions), but this was swiftly put down, and Coruscant remained loyal to the Empire for over a year - until shortly after the Battle of Jakku. It’s chilling to realize the upper classes of Coruscant remained positive enough about the Empire for Lady Pallopides to feel she would benefit from claiming she was Palpatine’s daughter.
These would have been people who profited under the Empire, perhaps willing to cooperate with the Empire but more likely sharing Palpatine’s ideology.
Ahsokaconfirmed there are Imperial loyalists scattered across the Core Worlds, with Ahsoka and Hera Syndulla discovering a cell on Corellia. Spies working for theImperial Shadow Councilare known to have continued operating on Coruscant too, and it’s easy to imagine these agents interacting with some of Coruscant’s elite. Their continued loyalty to the Empire does make sense; these would have been people who profited under the Empire, perhaps willing to cooperate with the Empire but more likely sharing Palpatine’s ideology. The New Republic presumably left them alone, feeling they needed to find a way to rebuild the galaxy.
The New Republic Made A Massive Mistake Basing Itself On Coruscant
We know the New Republic didn’t remain on Coruscant; it had moved to Hosnian Prime by the time ofStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, an ecumenopolis that was ultimately destroyed by Starkiller Base. Until now, most theories explaining this away have suggested Coruscant became a target of the Empire, perhaps ravaged by Thrawn’s forced; in Legends, Thrawn launched a major attack on the galactic capital. But the Lady Pallopides reveal raises the disturbing possibility the New Republic realized it was not safe with its capital on Coruscant.
InThe Mandalorianera, the New Republic has unwisely chosen to center itself on a world where loyalty to democracy does not cut deep. Coruscant prospered under Palpatine, and its upper echelons have no reason to love the New Republic - and every reason to help the Empire, in the hopes the Core Worlds would become more influential than the Outer Rim once again. Perhaps Grand Admiral Thrawn will work with Coruscant’s network of Imperial sympathizers, coming close to crippling the New Republic’s government.
RewatchingStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, it’s striking to note that Coruscant was positioned as the heart of the galaxy’s darkness. George Lucas deliberately showed the galactic capital as a planet lost in shadow, with the darkness deepest around Palpatine himself. It would be so fitting forStar Warsto confirm the darkness outlived the Emperor himself.
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