In the novelization, Palpatine is just a politician who ends up becoming a powerless figurehead. There’s nothing Force-ful about him within the prologue.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read it and I’d have to dig it out, bit I have the original paper back pressing and I’m almost sure in the edition I have it calls him a Sith. I’ll see if I can find it.
JEDIT: Duracell is right. Although it does refer to him as “The emperor”, so his identity is still revealed for the phantom menace. I’m pretty sure the book uses the word Sith somewhere though.