She had already booked flights and accommodation for the holiday.
A British mum was left “devastated” after the Passport Office denied her application for a passport for her toddler because she shares the same name as a character from the HBO series Game of Thrones.
39-year-old Lucy from Swindon had planned a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disneyland Paris for both her and her 6-year-old daughter Khaleesi.
Lucy had already paid for the flights and booked accommodation close to the iconic theme park.
The last thing left to sort was a first passport for her excited youngster.
To her shock, the application she had sent to the British Passport Office came back as rejected, after they claimed that Warner Bros had trademarked the name.
They told Lucy that she would need to receive official written permission to use the name from the gigantic US-based entertainment company in order for them to be able to grant her passport application for Khaleesi.
Khaleesi means ‘queen’ in the fictional language of Dothraki, and is the name given to the lead character of Daenerys Targaryen – played by Emilia Clarke – in the fantasy TV series.
Also known as ‘The Mother of Dragons’, Khaleesi led an army of ‘unsullied’ soldiers and struck fear throughout Westeros with her barbaric legion and squad of fire-breathing dragons.
Clearly a big fan of the controversial character, Lucy decided to name her little girl after the ‘ice queen’ and claims she never had any issues with the name until the Passport Office called her out.
“I was absolutely devastated,” she told the BBC. “We were so looking forward to our first holiday together.
“It was the first I’ve heard of such a thing – I was astonished.”
“I didn’t understand and felt frustrated. If she could get a birth certificate, would something not have been flagged up then?
“I never thought you could trademark a name,” she added.
After seeking legal advice, Lucy’s solicitors discovered that while there is a trademark for Game of Thrones, it is for goods and services – not for a person’s name.
“That information was sent to the Passport Office who said I would need a letter from Warner Brothers to confirm my daughter is able to use that name,” Lucy said.
The Passport Office has since called Lucy to apologise and said a ‘mistake’ had been made.
An official explained there had been a misunderstanding and the guidance staff had originally given applies only to people changing their names.
“He advised me that they should be able to process my daughter’s passport now, ” she said.
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Lucy credits the media coverage as the reason for the positive solution to the situation.
“If I hadn’t posted this on social media, nothing would have been done. I would have been stuck, not knowing what to do.
“People contacted me about similar experiences,” she added. “I think there might be other people in this situation, that they may have had their passports declined recently because of something like this.
“Hopefully, they now know it can be resolved.”
