This is the first photograph of a promising university student who suffered a series of allergies and died after eating a simple meal of “chicken and chips” on a family holiday in Morocco.
Lily King, 18, went on a week-long holiday to the capital Rabat with her mother Aicha, 56, in June to visit family and celebrate achieving top grades in her first year of an economics degree at the University of Exeter.
On the last day of their vacation, June 19, the couple went out to dinner at the Maya restaurant and lounge in Rabat, where they had previously eaten.
On its website, the restaurant – which also functions as a bar and nightclub – claims to offer “an exclusive yet impeccable culinary journey”, the “finest cuisine” and boasts a “long history of luxury hospitality”.
Mrs King, who is Moroccan and speaks Arabic, was “explicit” with staff about her daughter’s allergies, which included dairy, fish, shellfish, sesame and nuts, and “what she could and couldn’t eat”, her husband Michael, 73, told MailOnline.
Lily King, 18, went on a week-long holiday to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, with her mother Aicha, 56, in June to visit family.
Lily had not had any serious reactions in all the years she lived at the family home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, but when she went to university, “things got a lot worse”.
On the last night of their vacation, mother and daughter went out to dinner at Maya Restaurant and Lounge in Rabat, where they had eaten before.
But “within minutes” of eating a bite of her “chicken and chips” meal, Lily developed a severe reaction that led to her vomiting and running away while struggling to breathe.
“I had a scratchy throat, which then turned into nausea, stomach cramps and breathing problems,” Mr King added.
‘She used her Epi-pen, which she carried with her at all times.’
But Mr King, an independent production buyer for film companies, claims that in the ensuing panic, when “Lily was outside struggling to breathe”, restaurant staff told Ms King she “couldn’t leave without paying the bill”.
‘They delayed her by a few minutes from leaving the restaurant, which could have saved Lily’s life.’
Devastated Mrs King added: “I explained to him (the waiter) in Arabic three times: ‘Be careful, she is very, very allergic’.”
He says, “Yeah, don’t worry, we’re careful.”
He said he ordered a simple meal of grilled chicken and French fries without oil for Lily.
The waiter is said to have brought a plate of chicken, vegetables with French fries and a sauce on the side.
He said that in the darkness of the restaurant, the vegetables looked like shrimp, so he immediately told the waiter to take the food away.
But he assured her that they were actually carrots cooked only in olive oil and that there was nothing dangerous in Lily’s dish.
The teenager was on holiday to celebrate achieving top marks in her first year of an economics degree at the University of Exeter.
Mrs King said that while speaking to the waiter in Arabic, Lily took a bite of the carrots and within minutes she began to react to the food.
Mrs King added: ‘Lily said ‘it’s itchy, I gave her a Piriton and she went to the toilet. When she came back she said ‘I can’t breathe’.
‘I started calling the ambulance and we went outside so he could try to breathe.
‘We used the Epi Pen, but I left my purse inside the restaurant, and inside was my passport and everything else. I can’t leave it, so I went inside to get it.
“I told the restaurant, ‘My daughter is dying outside.’ They told me to pay the bill before I left.”
Ms. King said that after spending vital minutes paying the bill, she left the restaurant to help her daughter, who by that point had already used her second Epi-Pen, without success.
“I am screaming, there are security guards outside the door, but no one is helping me, nothing,” she said through tears.
Lily was “quite careful”, she said, but early in her first year she went into anaphylactic shock after eating a burger at a music festival, despite being told it was safe for her, and was rushed to hospital.
Mrs King desperately tried to get an ambulance, but as vital minutes ran out, she was forced to take Lily to hospital in her car.
Mr King said it was 30 minutes before Lily arrived at hospital, by which time she had already suffered a heart attack.
A heartbroken Mrs King said Lily, her only child, “died on my shoulder”.
‘She told me ‘I love you, goodbye’ and then she passed away.’
Mr King added: “After the heart attack, he suffered a catatonic seizure which destroyed his brain and he was basically diagnosed as brain dead.”
He fled to Morocco with his eldest daughter from his first marriage before he and his wife had to make the painful decision to let Lily go.
“They kept her alive for three days and did another test and no brain function was detected, and we had to let her go.”
He said doctors at the hospital “didn’t say much” about Lily’s illness except that there was no brain activity, but they asked him and his wife what might have caused it.
‘We told them exactly what happened at the restaurant.
“But on the death certificate that was issued later, they said the cause of death was a heart attack.”
The Kings fear they may “never know” why Lily’s allergies were “ignored or how they were ignored” by the restaurant, as Mr King believes her food must have contained an allergen or suffered some cross-contamination.
“I can’t imagine any other cause that could have caused him to stop breathing,” Mr King insisted.
The Kings fear they may “never know” why Lily’s allergies were “ignored or how they were ignored” by the restaurant.
Lily had lived with her allergies since birth and Ms King was “always incredibly careful” with her, educating her about her allergies and taking her own food with them to make sure she was safe, Mr King added.
He said Lily had not had any serious reactions in all the years she lived at the family home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, but when she went to university “things got a lot worse”.
Lily was “quite careful”, she said, but early in her first year she went into anaphylactic shock after eating a burger at a music festival (despite being checked to make sure it was safe for her) and was rushed to hospital.
He developed infections in his kidneys and other parts, but had recovered before the trip to Morocco.
Lily died on 23 June and underwent two autopsies, one in Morocco and one in England, before her body was handed over to her parents and she was buried in Beaconsfield on 10 July.
Paying tribute to his daughter, Mr King said: ‘Lily was loved by many, many friends.
‘We had 60 or 70 of her friends and colleagues at the funeral, and they all signed a book of condolence and said the most wonderful things about her – how she was a bright light and made everyone laugh, and how she helped them with their problems.
‘She was a very loving and very intelligent girl.
‘Despite all his problems, he managed to get to secondary school and obtain three A-Levels with grades suitable for Exeter University to study Economics.
“She just got her first year exam results back and got an A – that was the day before she went into anaphylactic shock.”
Mr King said police in Morocco have launched an investigation into the restaurant, but the family remains in the dark about the progress of the case.
He added: ‘It was taken out of the hands of the police and handed over to the prosecutor.
‘We were told that we would be notified of the next steps.
“We want to know what’s going on, we want to know if they’re going to cover it up or if they’re going to do something about it.”
The King and Queen have bravely decided to speak out about Lily’s death to seek answers for their daughter and to warn other families about the risks of taking children with allergies out to eat, especially abroad.
Mr King added: “We are angry. We have been kept in the dark about what they are doing.”
The King and Queen have bravely decided to speak out about Lily’s death to seek answers for their daughter and to warn other families about the risks of taking children with allergies out to eat, especially abroad.
‘I just want to protect other English people who want to go to Morocco with their children who have allergies.
“I just think people need to know these things.”
Asked what he would say to other families planning to take children with allergies abroad, he said: “People need to be very careful and educate their children about it.
“We did the best we could and raised Lily, but she wanted to live.”
She said her message to other parents of children with allergies is: ‘Even if they haven’t had an anaphylactic shot yet, it’s like Russian roulette.
«Every time you eat out, especially abroad, you are playing Russian roulette with your life.»
Ms King is adamant that people like Lily with allergies should not be “locked up at home” but should be able to go out and enjoy a meal in a restaurant and be treated with “respect”.
The King and Queen are in contact with Tanya and Nadim, the parents of tragic 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died in July 2016 after suffering an allergic reaction to sesame seeds contained in a Pret a Manger baguette which were not listed on the ingredients label.
They are raising money in Lily’s memory for the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, set up by Tanya and Nadim. You can donate to their JustGiving page. here.
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