Sabé Sabé ( ) was a female human who served as a Royal Handmaiden during the Trade Federation ' s invasion of Naboo . As a handmaiden for Queen Padmé Amidala , Sabé doubled as the queen ' s decoy , often switching roles for her monarch ' s protection . Sabé carried out this role during the invasion , using it to trick the Federation into believing she was the queen . Biography . Sabé was one of five handmaidens that served Queen Amidala during the Trade Federation ' s blockade and subsequent invasion of Naboo . When Federation forces captured the Theed Royal Palace , Sabé switched roles with the queen , who posed as a simple handmaiden , going by her less commonly known name , Padmé . Sabé , pretending to be the queen , rejected Viceroy Nute Gunray ' s efforts to have her sign a treaty that would make the invasion legal . She and the rest of the royal retinue were then escorted by battle droids to a separate holding facility . On the way , they were rescued by Jedi Master Qui - Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi - Wan Kenobi . Proceeding to a nearby hangar , Jinn insisted that the queen be taken to Coruscant to plead her case to the Galactic Senate . After conferring with her handmaiden Padmé , the real queen , Sabé agreed . She subsequently left Naboo aboard the Royal Starship with the Jedi , taking Padmé , Captain Panaka , as well as two other handmaidens , Eirtaé and Rabé , with her . They eventually managed to get through the Federation blockade and leave the Naboo system . Sabé — as the queen — commended R2 - D2 , the astromech droid that guaranteed their ship ' s escape , and ordered Padmé to clean him up . However , the Royal Starship ' s hyperdrive was heavily damaged . Forced to land on the desert planet Tatooine , Sabé remained on the starship while Jinn and Padmé sought a new T - 14 hyperdrive generator . When they reached the galactic capital of Coruscant , Sabé was presented as the queen to Supreme Chancellor Valorum and Senator Sheev Palpatine , who represented Naboo in the Galactic Congress . She then switched back with the queen , and attended to Amidala before she went to speak to the Senate . Sabé once again switched places with Amidala when they sought help from Gungan forces , and began negotiations with their leader , Boss Nass . However , Padmé quickly revealed the deception as a confidence - building measure , and the two parties finally agreed to work together in order to free their planet from the Trade Federation . Despite being exposed , Sabé remained disguised as Queen Amidala during the mission to reclaim the palace . When Padmé was captured , she played an instrumental role in deceiving Viceroy Gunray . Showing up suddenly at the door to the throne room , Sabe proclaimed the Viceroy ' s occupation over and blasted two of his droids before fleeing with her group . Gunray ordered his troop s to follow Sabé , believing she was the real queen . This provided Padmé the opportunity to retrieve her blaster and take the Neimoidian into custody , liberating the planet . Sabé was later present when the queen welcomed Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi Council to Naboo , and at the parade celebrating the freedom of Naboo and the reconciliation of its human and Gungan populations . Ten years later , a handmaiden named Cordé was serving as Amidala ' s decoy . Personality and traits . Sabé was loyal to Queen Amidala , serving as both her bodyguard and decoy in crisis situations , despite the considerable risk of injury , capture or even death that this posed to her . As a member of Amidala ' s royal retinue of handmaidens , Sabé was handpicked to aid the Queen of Naboo . Like all Naboo handmaidens , she learned self - defense and was also trained to remain vigilant against all threats to her monarch . When impersonating the Queen , Sabé and Amidala , who disguised herself as a handmaiden , relied on a system of subtle signals in order to secretly communicate without undermining the deception of their switched roles . Like Amidala , Sabé was a human female who stood at 1 . 65 meter s . She had brown hair , brown eye s , and light skin . She carried a standard ELG - 3A blaster pistol like the queen and her fellow handmaidens and was a capable markswoman , taking off the head of a battle droid at one point with a single shot . Behind the scenes . Sabé first appeared in the 1999 film , portrayed by actress Keira Knightley . She was credited as " Kiera Knightley " in the film .