Within the storyline, Irulan is established as the eldest daughter of the 81st Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV and Anirul, a Bene Gesserit of Hidden Rank, and has four younger sisters and no brothers.

Within the storyline, Irulan is established as the eldest daughter of the 81st Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV and Anirul, a Bene Gesserit of Hidden Rank.

[4] In Dune Messiah, the Tleilaxu Face Dancer Scytale refers to Irulan as "a tall blonde beauty ... she carried herself with an aristocrat's hauteur, but something in the absorbed smoothness of her features betrayed the controls of her Bene Gesserit background".

[5] Although Irulan is noted to have been "trained in the deepest of the Bene Gesserit ways, destined to be a Reverend Mother",[4] in the series she never undergoes the dangerous ritual spice agony to achieve this.

In forms such as diary entries, historical commentary, biography, quotations and philosophy, these writings set tone and provide exposition, context and other details intended to enhance understanding of Herbert's complex fictional universe and themes.

[8] In Dune, Shaddam orders Duke Leto Atreides to take over the valuable spice melange operations on the desert planet Arrakis.

A crisis on Arrakis begins when the mysterious Muad'Dib, in actuality Paul Atreides, emerges as a leader of the native Fremen tribes rebelling against the rule of the Harkonnens.

"[12] Twelve years later in Dune Messiah, Irulan is Imperial Consort, but is Paul's wife in name only, as he intends his beloved concubine Chani to bear his children and heirs apparent.

[5] This resentment, coupled with Bene Gesserit orders that Paul not be allowed to father an heir with Chani, has driven Irulan to secretly drug the Fremen woman with dangerous contraceptives for years.

Chani ultimately discovers not only Irulan's role in her infertility but the fact that the contraceptives have caused permanent damage and will jeopardize her current pregnancy.

"[5] Deserting the Bene Gesserit, Irulan subsequently devotes herself to House Atreides and helping to raise Paul and Chani's orphaned twins.

During the events of Children of Dune, Irulan attempts to serve as a guide and confidante to Ghanima, but is often flustered by the adult consciousness the twins possess as a result of being pre-born and having access to Other Memory.

[13][14][16][17] In the story, as Paul's Jihad rages, Shaddam seeks to regain his throne, and Irulan accepts the "task of building the legend of Muad'Dib".

[18] In the novel, Paul's disappearance into the desert has left a power vacuum, and Irulan and his other advisors struggle to determine what path his empire should take.

[20] Director Alejandro Jodorowsky intended Amanda Lear to play Irulan in his planned 1970s film adaptation of Dune, which was never made.

"[30] Madsen said that Helena Bonham Carter was originally cast in the role, but ended up having a scheduling conflict with the film A Room with a View.

[9][33][34] Director John Harrison said that he felt the need to expand Irulan's role because she plays such an important part in later books, and her epigraphs make her a significant presence in the novel.

[33] Actress Julie Cox noted that Harrison made Irulan "more of a love interest and to offset the weirdness of Paul marrying a stranger at the end".

However, in the book it is a different Bene Gesserit, Margot Fenring, who visits the Harkonnen heir, on assignment from the Sisterhood to retrieve his genetic material (through conception) for their breeding program.

He wrote that "Cox is elegant and cunning with the part, and makes Irulan's own journey every bit as interesting as Paul's on the flip side of the political machine.

Much of the strength in Dune lies in the women guiding the plot from behind-the-scenes, and Irulan is undoubtedly a key player not to be trifled with alongside Jessica and Reverend Mother Mohiam.

Laura Fries of Variety wrote: "[Daniela] Amavia and Cox as the tortured Alia and the put-upon Irulan offer layered performances".

[37] Asher-Perrin praised Irulan's "complete character arc" in the miniseries as an improvement to the character's treatment in the source novels,[38] and noted:[38] There are a few clever changes made in order to connect the two stories better, the primary one being that rather than having Princess Irulan work as a conspirator against Paul alongside the Bene Gesserit, the Spacing Guild, and the Tleilaxu, her sister Wensicia is brought to the fore sooner and given that role.

[25] Villeneuve dispensed with the novel's framing epigraphs by Irulan,[7][39] which according to Ryan Britt of Inverse leaves "certain expository details" and "at least one political and historical side of Dune" missing.

"[10] Adrienne Westenfeld of Esquire called this a "cinematic" choice, and wrote,"The result is a more fiercely interior experience of Paul's journey to messianic prominence ... [and] to shift any sort of frame device from the royal Princess Irulan to the indigenous Chani is to provide a welcome juxtaposition to the frequent focus on noble political power brokers.