The Other Princess Leia

Princess Leia Organa is a strong woman. Despite losing her son to the dark side and then losing her husband to her son, Leia never gave up. But there is another Leia too. A Leia that many of us have not quite-yet forgotten. That Leia was “Leia Organa Solo”, the Leia that took her husband’s name. The Leia I speak of lived within Star Wars novels written between 1991 and 2013. The “other” Leia led a different life than the Leia we see in Episodes VII & VIII, but in the vast multi-verse Princess Leia is always essentially the same person no matter what twists and turns guide her path.

Marriage

Depending on who you ask, the marriage of Han Solo and Princess Leia took place on either Yavin 4, Dathomir, Coruscant or Endor. That’s quite the list of possibilities; so let’s tease these options out a little. A very early (and very forgotten) Star Wars book series known as the “Jedi Prince Saga” ended with Leia and Han getting married on Yavin 4. This young-reader series came out in the early 90s and was shunned by many fans, which is why it has largely been abandoned. I don’t have time to get into how sucky this series was, but it is sufficient to say that much of it was thrown out and retconned many years ago.

The next time that Star Wars addressed Leia’s marriage was in the 1994 novel, “The Courtship of Princess Leia” in which Leia must marry the Prince of the Hapes Cluster in order to establish a stronger alliance for the Rebellion. The prince in question is Prince Isolder and (needless to say) Han is a little jealous. Well… some stuff goes down and everyone ends up on Dathomir where a witch named Teneniel Djo captures both Prince Isolder and Luke Skywalker as potential husbands. In the end Teneniel chooses Isolder, freeing Leia to marry Han.

According to “The Courtship of Princess Leia”, the marriage of Han and Leia took place on Coruscant, four years after Endor. It was officiated by Mon Mothma with C-3P0 serving as a ring bearer. Other sources claim that the two were married on Dathomir and that the officiate was the leader of the Dathomir witches. Of course the new Disney Canon has Leia and Han married immediately after the battle of Endor with the wedding taking place on Endor itself.

Children & Political Career

The Leia that we see in “The Force Awakens” and “The Last Jedi” has a son named Ben Solo. However the “Other Leia” has three children- twins, named Jaina and Jacen and a younger son named Anakin Solo.

Proving that she is the ultimate working mother, Leia was elected to the position of “Chief of State” only months after her son Anakin was born. Leia would remain Chief of State for about 12 years, with only a few interruptions (She pulled a Grover Cleveland at one point).

Readers of the Disney Canon book “Bloodline” will note that the current Leia Orgnana has a long political career and is a senator for several years.

Jedi Powers & Later Years

Jacen Solo / Darth Caedus

Though we see Leia use some Jedi powers in “The Last Jedi” (and arguably in “The Empire Strikes Back) it is clear that she is not a real Jedi. In the old expanded universe, however, Leia Organa Solo became quite adept with the force. She eventually would become a Jedi Knight and wield a lightsaber. Yes, that’s right, the “other” Leia was the most powerful politician in the galaxy, a mother of three, and a Jedi Knight. However, all these wonderful things did not come to her without consequences.

23 Years after the Battle of Endor, at the height of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Leia’s youngest son, Anakin was killed in battle. 14 years after that, her eldest son Jacen would turn to the darkside and would be killed in battle against his twin sister Jaina. It is a real tragedy that Leia loses a son to the darkside in both the old canon and the new. One has to wonder, in an infinity of universes, if there is a universe where Leia and Han win the Battle of Endor and then go on to live a quiet, peaceful life. But in a world where audiences demand more stories, Leia never stood a chance. This is Space Opera after all.

Alanna Djo Solo

After Jacen’s death Leia & Han took charge of Allana, Jacen’s daughter. Allana was the love child between Jacen and Tenel Ka Djo. (Tenel Ka Djo happens to be the daughter of Teneniel Djo & Prince Isolder. Like I said, Space Opera.)

Though Leia Organa Solo loses two children, it can be argued that her ultimate fate in the Expanded Universe is a happy one. She remains married to Han and has strong relationships with her brother, daughter, and granddaughter. In 2012, Disney purchased Star Wars and ended the story of Leia Organa Solo: Chief of State & Jedi Knight. If Disney hadn’t purchased Star Wars, perhaps more tragedy would have befallen the Alderaanean Princess. But because there are no more stories to tell of this “other” Leia, we can imagine her fate to be a peaceful one.