Maximus Palpatine

Maximus Palpatine, later known as Maximus I or Maximus the Great, was the second, who also concurrently served as the and  of the.

Early life
Born on in 18 BBY, Maximus was the son of the reigning   and one of his consorts,. A member of the, she hoped that having the Emperor's heir would gain her more power and influence, eventually allowing her to take control of the. However, since the Emperor intended to rule forever using bodies and the, he had no need for a son, and kept his birth a state secret. The young Maximus was spirited away to his private retreat on, a little-known world in the remote , while his mother was exiled to the. Nonetheless, Emperor Palpatine did see some potential use in him as an apprentice, since he was born Force-sensitive. For this reason, he picked some of his most trusted s to raise Maximus in secret in the Deep Core.

This initially went according to plan. As a child, Maximus was raised in the way that a member of royalty typically would be. He spent several hours a day being trained in the Force by some of the Emperor's chosen dark siders, while the rest of his time was devoted to studying other subjects that he might find useful. Those included history, politics, diplomacy, court etiquette, and the art of war. While he was a competent adept and, Maximus seemed to have inherited little of his father's great ability in the Force, to the chagrin of his dark side masters and the Emperor. Instead, the young prince was more interested in politics and military strategy, in which he excelled. Palpatine believed that he may prove useful in the regard more than in matters of the Force.

Meanwhile, Maximus was getting tired of being forced to live in seclusion on a backwater planet, and wanted to take an active part in Imperial politics. After an attempt on his life by  in 1 BBY, the Emperor saw the political usefulness of appointing a potential successor for the crown. The presence of an heir would make assassination attempts against the Emperor futile, as the Imperial government would then rally around the Prince, and Palpatine hoped this would serve to restrain his more ambitious servants. He officially acknowledged that he had a son, and granted him the title of Imperial Crown Prince, much to the shock of both the Imperial Court and his opponents. However, the Emperor did not want his son to get in the way of his plans and restricted his movement to Byss, much to the young man's frustration.

Maximus was an Imperial loyalist, but disdained his father's obsession with the Force, believing that it hindered progress to achieving the ideal state. The Prince nonetheless acknowledged its uses, and put some effort into learning different dark side techniques. He sought to create a new reformed system that would eliminate what he considered the failings of the current Empire. As the spread across the galaxy, Maximus sought more power, and began secretly making contacts on the  and within the bureaucracy.

Skills and abilities
"Although the Prince seems to have inherited very little of his father's great Force ability, he does have the late Emperor's strategic genius."

Titles

 * 1 BBY – 4 ABY: His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Maximus of the Galactic Empire
 * 3 ABY – 6 ABY: His Excellency The Prime Minister of the Galactic Empire
 * 4 ABY – 12 ABY: His Imperial Majesty The Galactic Emperor

Behind the scenes
Maximus is a Roman name that means "greatest."