Yeah DP, you're right. George's original intention in making Amidala a queen was to rationalize the princess bit. But then he dropped it in the next movie by saying that she was elected queen, and was now just a senator.
Unrelated, I also find it funny that she uses decoys her whole life, even as a senator, then when her decoy (who now looks nothing like her) gets killed at the beginning of AOTC, she suddenly stops using decoys.