House of Organa

"My wife and I will take the girl. We've always talked of adopting a baby girl. She will be loved with us."

- Bail Organa

The House of Organa, also known as the Royal Family of Alderaan, the Royal House of Alderaan, or simply House Organa, was the immediate family of the Alderaanian monarch. During the last years of the Galactic Republic, the family comprised Queen Breha Organa, who reigned over the Core World Alderaan by hereditary right, and her consort Senator Bail Organa of the Galactic Senate. Having no natural children of their own, they became the adoptive parents of Princess Leia Organa shortly after the Clone Wars.

Throughout the Imperial Era, the Organas worked in secret to create the Alliance to Restore the Republic while feigning loyalty to the Galactic Empire. With the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station operational, however, the destructive firepower of its superlaser was unleashed on Alderaan, completely destroying the planet along with billions of Alderaanians and the monarchy. Leia, having been held prisoner on board the battle station at the time of Alderaan's destruction, was the sole survivor of the royal family.

The end of the Galactic Civil War coincided with the birth of Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia. Under the laws that governed the Elder Houses, Leia and Ben were both entitled to the hereditary rights of House Organa, including the governorship of Birren.

Peace and war
"I'm a daughter of Alderaan. My mother raised me to cherish peace, as I am trying to raise you."

- Breha Organa, to Leia Organa

The House of Organa was the royal family of Alderaan, an influential planet located in the Core Worlds. As one of the galaxy's royal families, collectively known as the Elder Houses, the rule of Alderaan was a hereditary right that passed from one generation to the next. During the last years of the Galactic Republic, Breha Organa reigned as Queen of the Alderaanians. Her consort, the idealistic Viceroy Bail Organa, represented their homeworld in the Galactic Senate as the Senator of Alderaan.

Alderaan maintained its reputation as a peaceful world throughout Queen Breha's reign, while Bail earned respect on the galactic capital of Coruscant for his honesty and commitment to justice. An idealist at heart, he served on the Loyalist Committee during the administration of Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine in hopes of finding a diplomatic solution to the Separatist Crisis. He retained his loyalist principles throughout the Clone Wars and, driven by his humanitarian instincts, supported the Republic by aiding relief efforts and helping refugees. Chancellor Palpatine's accumulation of wartime powers, however, conflicted with Bail's politics.

In the waning days of the war, Bail joined the Delegation of 2,000 in drafting a petition that called on the chancellor to relinquish his emergency powers and end the conflict with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Instead of a restoration of democracy, Bail was horrified to witness Palpatine's declaration of the Galactic Empire, and began fomenting a rebellion against the Emperor. By then, the newborn Princess Leia Organa became the newest addition to the royal family. Having discussed adoption in lieu of a natural heir to the throne, Bail and Breha adopted Leia and raised her as their own child. Knowing the identities of Leia's biological parents, Bail kept his daughter's origins secret in order to protect her from the Sith.

The Rebellion
"We cannot let a thousand years of democracy disappear without a fight."

- Bail Organa

Breha's reign continued for another two decades during the Imperial Era. She mentored students personally on Alderaan, including the X-wing starfighter pilot Evaan Verlaine. Though outwardly loyal to the New Order, Bail continued to support the cause of freedom, helping Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila to create the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Leia, having been groomed for leadership, succeeded her father both in the Imperial Senate and the secret Rebellion.

In the end, neither Bail or Breha lived to see the Alliance's victory over the Empire. Shortly before the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY, Imperial forces intercepted the Alderaanian diplomatic cruiser Tantive IV and Leia was taken prisoner by the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who suspected that the princess had been involved in the theft of vital schematics pertaining to the Death Star. The battle station's commanding officer, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, decided to test the superlaser's full power on Alderaan, incinerating the entire planet along with billions of Alderaanians.

Memorialization
"Let us take a moment to honor the lost souls of Alderaan. To honor Viceroy Bail Organa and Queen Breha Organa. May they forever be remembered."

- Leia Organa

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

After the Galactic Civil War, Leia resumed her political career under the New Republic, hoping to lead the galaxy into a new era of liberty after decades of Imperial rule. Over the years her personal life conflicted with her responsibilities as a public official, however. Leia had married the Corellian smuggler Han Solo and gave birth to a son, Ben Solo, but their professional lives led them down separate paths, thereby neglecting their child who developed feelings of solitude and abandonment. As a leading member of the New Republic Senate, Leia continued to honor the memory of her adoptive parents, their homeworld and its people via speeches and events to ensure that Alderaan's destruction would never be forgotten. Through their daughter's efforts, Bail and Breha were remembered as martyrs who gave their lives to the cause of freedom after a lifetime of promoting peace and charity.

Despite the natural bloodline of House Organa ending with Bail and Breha, the Elder Houses recognized the hereditary rights of Leia as well as her son Ben. In 28 ABY, Lord Mellowyn&mdash;a distant relative of the royal family of Alderaan&mdash;died without an heir to his role as the figurehead Supreme Governor of Birren. As the late governor's closest living relatives, albeit through adoption, Leia and Ben were next in the line of succession. Neither Leia nor her son was in a position to accept the office, however. At the time, Leia was still a senator while Ben trained with the resurgent Jedi Order under his uncle and mentor, Luke Skywalker. As a result, Lady Carise Sindian claimed the ceremonial governorship by default.

Ultimately, Leia's political career was effectively destroyed by the revelation of her true family. Before his death, Bail left behind a secret recording that revealed the identities of Leia's real mother and father&mdash;that of the late Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo and her secret husband, the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Furthermore, Bail confessed that Anakin had, in fact, fallen to the dark side of the Force, becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Lady Carise found Bail's message and passed it to her colleague, Ransolm Casterfo, who displayed to the entire Galactic Senate. Leia's connection to the most hated man in the galaxy shattered her reputation in the Senate and caused irreparable damage to her campaign to become First Senator.

A prince of Alderaan
"I knew his grandfather. And his mother. Is he&hellip;is he like her?''" "''He is. He'd deny it. But he's very much like her."

- Bylsma and Armitage Hux, referring to Ben Solo

Despite his potential as the archetype of a new generation of Jedi, Ben Solo was seduced by the dark side of the Force like his grandfather before him. Embracing the teachings of Supreme Leader Snoke, he adopted the persona of Kylo Ren, thereby severing all ties to the Jedi and his family. Despite his new identity, the so-called master of the Knights of Ren struggled to resist the pull to the light side of the Force. Ren's efforts to reinvent himself extended to the use of a combat helmet that was reminiscent of the mask worn by Vader, but beneath the helmet's theatrics the young warrior was still Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa.

During the rise of the First Order, General Armitage Hux used Ren's heritage to gain the trust of Bylsma while stranded on an unknown planet. Having served the royal family as a palace guard prior to the destruction of Alderaan, Bylsma knew Ben's mother and adoptive grandfather, and wondered if he was anything like Leia. Hux admitted that Ben did, in fact, have much in common with his mother, even if he would have denied it. The resemblance between Leia and Ben confirmed the latter's royal lineage, and the Alderaanian soldier helped Hux to contact his allies in the First Order.

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