“Our hope is to spread the word that going anywhere on holiday with your children, if they have a serious allergy, is a danger,” Lily King’s dad, Michael, tells PEOPLE.
Lily King, 18, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, died in June 2024 from cardiorespiratory arrest caused by anaphylaxis triggered by food.
Like many college students, 18-year-old Lily King was thrilled when she found out she passed her first year at Exeter University in England in June 2024.
She and her mom, Aicha, 57, were visiting Morocco when she got the news, Aicha tells PEOPLE.
To celebrate on their last night there, Lily suggested returning to the same restaurant they visited for her 17th birthday in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.
Aicha was hesitant. For most people, it might seem like a normal outing, but Lily was allergic to dairy, nuts, fish, sesame, and most seafood.
Whenever they traveled, Aicha brought safe food for her daughter and made sure Lily had her EpiPen and antihistamines.
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Lily promised she would be careful, so her mom agreed to go.
At the restaurant, Lily ate something that either had an allergen or was cross-contaminated, possibly from cooking oil. This caused a severe allergic reaction that led to her death on June 23, 2024, according to her parents.
Since then, the family has spoken out to warn others about allergy risks.
A coroner’s report reviewed by PEOPLE says Lily died from cardiorespiratory arrest caused by anaphylaxis “after eating a contaminated meal.”
Lily’s death was described as “avoidable” by Dr. Sean Cummings, a Milton Keynes coroner in the U.K.
“Our hope is to spread the word that going anywhere on holiday with your children, if they have a serious allergy, is a danger,” Michael, 74, tells PEOPLE.
He believes restaurant staff did not understand the risks of severe allergies.
Representatives of Maya Restaurant and Lounge could not be reached for comment and declined an online message from PEOPLE.
Michael, who lives with Aicha in Beaconsfield, says he had warned Lily about the dangers — but she was 18 and wanted to enjoy life. She was careful, he says.
“She had allergic reactions before, but none needed an EpiPen,” Michael explains. Usually, an antihistamine was enough to stop reactions, though sometimes symptoms were more serious.
During her first year of college, at a music festival, Lily ate a hamburger and suffered her first anaphylactic shock due to an unknown ingredient. Luckily, emergency services were on site, and she received her EpiPen and more adrenaline.
In Morocco, Aicha, who speaks Arabic, visited at least once a year with Lily. Michael sometimes joined them.
“She thought she was safe because her mum was with her,” Michael says.
On June 19, 2024, Aicha told the restaurant staff three times about Lily’s allergies before ordering grilled chicken and chips. The waiter assured them it would be safe.
Lily even told the waiter in Arabic, “I’m not going to be killed,” Aicha says.
When Lily ate what she thought was a carrot, she began reacting within minutes.
“Mom, my tongue is itchy,” she told her mother. Aicha urged her to go to the hospital. Lily took an antihistamine and later used her EpiPen. During this time, she shared heartbreaking words with her mom: “Mom, I’m sorry. I love you. I love you, Mom. But goodbye.”
Her condition quickly worsened. Ambulance help was delayed, and the restaurant insisted she settle the bill first. Lily was eventually taken to a hospital in her nephew’s car, but by then, she was unresponsive. Scans showed no brain activity.
When Michael arrived in Morocco, a doctor told him Lily’s prognosis was poor. She was taken off life-support but continued to receive oxygen. Michael and Aicha stayed with her as her heartbeat faded.
Lily, an economics student, was the couple’s only daughter. Aicha had experienced three previous miscarriages.
“We want to help other parents make informed choices about food when traveling, especially in countries where they don’t speak the language or where food regulations are not as strict,” Michael says.
