How Old Were Padme & Anakin in ‘The Phantom Menace’?

The romance between Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker in the storyline of Star Wars started during the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.  Of course, when we met them in the events of that film, we saw that they were still quite young, with Anakin significantly younger than Padme at that time.  As such, there was a somewhat wide gap in the ages of these characters.  But how old were Padme and Anakin in The Phantom Menace?

Padme was around 14 years old during the events of Episode I.  Meanwhile, Anakin was just nine years old during the events of The Phantom Menace.  That means there were five years between the two characters, and Anakin was still quite young when he first fell in love with Padme.

While it might be true that only five years separate the ages of both Padme and Anakin, let’s not forget that the young Skywalker was still just a very young boy then. At the same time, Amidala was already a teenager engaging in world politics.  So, with that said, let’s look at how old Padme and Anakin were during the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Padme’s age in The Phantom Menace?

Padme Amidala was one of the most important characters of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.  Her story began when the Trade Federation blockaded Naboo to force the planet into negotiating terms that were grossly disadvantageous to the people of the planet.  As such, the Jedi had to step in to negotiate the terms between the two entities, only for the Trade Federation to turn it into a violent matter.

The Trade Federation wanted to get their hands on Queen Amidala to force her to sign the treaty between them.  Luckily for her, she escaped the planet with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Of course, Amidala had to bring her handmaidens with her because they were very important to her.

They landed in Tatooine because of hyperdrive problems, and that was when the queen allowed Padme to accompany Qui-Gon to acquire the parts they needed for the ship.  That was when they met Anakin Skywalker, who was still just a boy and a slave at that time.  Needless to say, Padme formed a good connection with the young Anakin and was quick to care for him.

At that time, Padme was disguised as the queen’s handmaiden but was the queen.  The one that was playing the role of the queen is her bodyguard, Sabé, who was chosen to become Queen Amidala because of her resemblance to Padme.  This allowed Padme and the others to have some sort of leverage over the Trade Federation because they didn’t know that the Queen Amidala they were trying to capture was just a decoy.

Born at 46 BBY, Padme Amidala was the youngest queen to get elected by the people of Naboo.  The events of The Phantom Menace took place on 32 BBY.  As such, Padme was already active in the political affairs of Naboo as the planet’s leader at the age of 14.  But because of her youth, it was important for her to have a decoy as they knew her enemies would take advantage of her youngness.  That was why she posed as the queen’s handmaiden while her bodyguard was allowed to assume Queen Amidala’s role.

Anakin’s age in The Phantom Menace?

Meanwhile, the other figure that was just as important as Amidala in the events of The Phantom Menace and the entire Skywalker Saga was Anakin Skywalker.  As mentioned, Padme and Qui-Gon met Anakin when he was still just a slave working for the junk dealer named Watto.  He was born a slave because his mother, Shmi, was a slave when she gave birth to him.

Jinn could acquire the parts he needed for their ship, thanks to Anakin.  He also sensed that Anakin was unusually powerful in the Force. That was when he had his blood tested for midi-chlorians, only to find out that he had the highest midi-chlorian count in the history of the Jedi.  As such, Qui-Gon decided to bring Anakin to Coruscant by winning him in a gamble against Watto.

Now a free boy, Anakin went to Coruscant with Qui-Gon so that he could present him to the Jedi High Council as the prophesized Chosen One.  But while Anakin was still just a boy then, the Council didn’t want to train him because “he was already too old.” This means that Jedi younglings were trained at incredibly young ages.

At that time, Anakin wasn’t even in double digits regarding his age.  He was born on 41 BBY.  As mentioned, The Phantom Menace took place on 32 BBY.  That means that Anakin was still just nine years old during Episode I.  And the fact that he was a talented pod racer and a really good pilot was surprising, considering his very young age.

How much older was Padme than Anakin?

Now, since Padme was born at 46 BBY and was 14 years old, while Anakin was born at 41 BBY and was nine years old, there are five years between the two characters.  Anakin was in love with Padme when he first met her and even called her an angel.  Of course, this was just a simple crush that he held on to for nine years until he met Padme again during the events of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

In Attack of the Clones, things became somewhat weird when Padme admitted that she also cared for Anakin since the first time she met him when he was just nine years old.  Of course, because they grew up to become consenting adults, the five-year age gap between them became immaterial, even though it sounded weird that there was love at first sight between a girl at 14 and a boy at nine.