For two years, Lucy Holloway worked relentlessly, even working 50 hours per week sometimes. Her husband had left when their daughter was barely a month old, never looking back or fulfilling his responsibility as a father. It all rested on Lucy’s tired but determined shoulders, and she built a “dream” around it… only for the passport office to bring it all crashing down.
Despite their hardships, she and her 6-year-old daughter harbored a long-held dream – that of going to Disneyland Paris. Even though it was not an easy expense, Lucy, from South West England, carefully planned the trip and worked hard to collect the required money. And when she finally achieved that difficult goal in 2024, she booked the tickets in advance to avoid the hiked prices closer to the trip date and applied for her daughter’s passport.
Only for it to be denied by the passport office because her child was supposedly breaking the law by simply existing.
She received a letter from the officials stating that to get a passport for her daughter, she would have to get an approval… from Warner Bros’. Why? Because the supposed crime she committed was lovingly naming her daughter “Khalessi” after Emilia Clarke’s character in the popular HBO series Game of Thrones.
So, what was the problem here? According to the officials, the WB “owns” the name’s trademark hence making it illegal for her 6-year-old daughter to use it in a legal document without permission, as it could be considered a breach of trademark law. The rejection forced Lucy to cancel a £2,000 Disneyland trip, as the passport couldn’t be issued.
“I was absolutely devastated, we were so looking forward to our first holiday together,” Lucy shared in a chat with the BBC, adding that this was the first time she had heard such a thing. What baffled her was the fact that if her daughter’s name was not legal, why did her birth certificate carry the name without similar fuss during its creation? Not finding a way, she took to social media and even sought legal advice. She soon discovered that she and her daughter’s dream was ended for nothing – the rule of trademark does not apply to personal names.
“I didn’t understand and felt frustrated. If she could get a birth certificate, would something not have been flagged up then?” she said.
Learning about its error – and most probably daunted by the social media furor since they initially refused to listen to reason – the Passport Office accepted its mistake and reportedly apologized to Lucy with the assurance that they would process Khalessi’s passport.
“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 explained.
But though she received resolution, justice wasn’t just delayed – she never got it. In a heartfelt GoFundMe post, Lucy detailed how a few officials’ inability to do their job right made giving her daughter a small happiness almost impossible for her.
“Now I am asking for help to get us this holiday, as since the delay in all of this, the price of the holiday has gone from £1800 to £3200 for the cheapest hotel. I have saved for over 2 years for this holiday, working 50-hour weeks sometimes.
Khaleesi’s father, my husband, left when she was 6 months old, and I haven’t heard from him since, so I receive no maintenance, no benefits, or financial help at all. I was also diagnosed with MS in 2021, so working in a retail shop on my feet all day is not doing good to my health, but I have to do it.”
Of course, the passport office didn’t offer her anything more than their half-hearted apology, but by the looks of the GoFundMe page, the internet did its magic as the required amount she needed to take Khalessi on the trip was met. Since there has been no follow-up coverage of the story, we can only hope that Lucy and her daughter did eventually get to go on the trip they rightfully deserved.
