Galactic Emperor

"I hear a new apprentice, you have, Emperor. Or should I call you Darth Sidious?"

- Yoda, to Palpatine

Galactic Emperor, sometimes referred to simply as Emperor, was the title of the Head of State of the Galactic Empire. The position and title was first formed, alongside the Galactic Empire itself, after the end of the Clone Wars, when Sheev Palpatine replaced the Galactic Republic with his New Order.

History
"In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society."

- Palpatine, to the Galactic Senate

At the conclusion of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic Sheev Palpatine dropped the "kindly old man" charade he had been playing for decades. A member of the Sith sect, Palpatine had masterminded the Clone Wars with the sole aim of executing the long-percolating plan of installing an empire ruled by the dark side of the Force. In the wake of the war, he declared a New Order of government that would sweep away the injustices and inefficiencies of the corrupt Republic. In truth, his Galactic Empire instead became a tyrannical regime. After Palpatine's death during the Battle of Endor, the remaining Imperial Starfleet reassembled to determine the next emperor.

Style of office
"Your Majesty, this way."

- A clone trooper, to Palpatine

The Galactic Emperor Palpatine could be addressed to as both "Your Majesty," and "Your Highness." However, in the context of non-official, everyday conversations, Palpatine was usually referred to as just "the Emperor," even between military officers. At the beginning of his reign, clone troopers would often call him "Sir."

Certain individuals had their own ways to address their Imperial sovereign. Being outside of the Imperial hierarchy, Darth Vader used to call the Emperor "my master," when meeting with the Emperor in person, a sign of their master–disciple relation in the dark arts of the Force. Vader would also use the pronoun "thy" instead of the more common "your," when asking what the Emperor's bidding was. Yoda, an enemy of the Empire, when encountering Palpatine in his senate rotunda chamber, sarcastically referred to Palpatine as simply "Emperor." Luke Skywalker, a member of the Rebel Alliance and fledgling Jedi Knight, when rejecting Palpatine's request for him to induct himself into the Sith as his apprentice shortly after Luke defeated Vader, referred to Palpatine as "Your Highness."

Behind the scenes
The title of Emperor was first mentioned in the novelization of A New Hope, ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster and published in 1976, but this version of the story of the film is now considered part of the continuity of Star Wars Legends and canon only to the degree that its events align with those depicted in the film. A number of additional Emperors were depicted in other now non-canon Legends material.

Non-canon appearances

 * Epic Yarns: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi