Question: are padme and amidala the same?
Answer: Why did Padme use her real name? Near the end of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Queen Amidala reveals that she's also Padme, one of the Queen's handmaidens. She would travel freely as Padme, and have Sabe, one of her handmaidens, be a decoy Queen. The Queen of Naboo is an elected office.