Relena is the pampered adoptive daughter of an Earth Alliance minister, and the undisputed queen bee of her posh private school. However, she yearns for something more in her well-ordered life, and her chance encounter with Gundam pilot Heero Yuy soon provides exactly the kind of excitement she'd been longing for - plus an element of dangerous flirtation.

Early in the story, Relena's dying foster father reveals her real identity: she is the daughter of King Peacecraft of the Sanc Kingdom, spirited away to safety when the kingdom was razed by Alliance troops. Relena soon decides to continue the pacifist work of her true parent, and  becomes a leading advocate for peace and nonviolence in an increasingly chaotic world.