Lucy, mother of a six year old girl in the UK was left "absolutely devastated" after her daughter's passport application was denied. The reason was that she is named after a popular "Game of Thrones" character, Khaleesi.
Hailing from South West England, Lucy told the BBC that the initial application for her daughter Khaleesi's passport was rejected, with officials citing the need for Warner Brothers' approval because the name is trademarked.
"I was absolutely devastated. We were so looking forward to our first holiday together," said Lucy, 39, who was planning a "dream" trip to Disneyland Paris.
Lucy received a letter from the Passport Office stating that her daughter's name is trademarked by Warner Brothers. "It was the first I’d heard of such a thing — I was astonished," she said.
After seeking legal advice, Lucy discovered her daughter was allowed to use the name and forwarded this information to the Passport Office. "I didn’t understand and felt frustrated. If she could get a birth certificate, would something not have been flagged up then?" she wondered. "I never thought you could trademark a name."
Following her complaint, the Passport Office called Lucy to apologize for the error. Officials assured her that they would now process Khaleesi's passport. Lucy believes the issue was resolved only because she took to social media to voice her frustration.
"If I hadn’t posted this on social media, nothing would have been done. I would have been stuck, not knowing what to do," she said, noting that others had reached out saying they’d experienced similar issues.
Lucy is now waiting for her daughter's passport to arrive before booking a new trip to Disneyland Paris. "I am hoping the passport will be issued soon and was promised that they would call back in a few days to see if it had progressed," she told the BBC.
She hopes her story will help others facing similar situations. "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," she said.
