Royal Award Ceremony

A Royal Award Ceremony, also referred to as the Yavin Ceremony, was held within the ruins of the Great Temple on Yavin 4 following the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY. During this ceremony, Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan, honored Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca for their heroic roles in destroying the first Death Star.

In front of hundreds of troops and technicians, the Heroes of Yavin were awarded the Medal of Bravery, the highest decoration for military valor given by the Alliance to Restore the Republic. C-3PO and R2-D2, the droid partners that carried the Death Star plans from Tatooine to Yavin, also received honors during the ceremony, being placed on the podium on the side of the Princess.

The awarding ceremony was followed by a series of speeches from Alliance officials, and then a feast, during which many toasts were drunk in honor of the new heroes, and Chewbacca was awarded his own gold medal. Years after the victory at Yavin, when a New Republic had been founded, those who originally attended the ceremony retained fond memories of it, as the crowning event of the Alliance.

Text and facts from the “Royal Award Ceremony/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.