As Lord Mayor of Westminster, Hamza Taouzzale will witness King Charles III’s coronation in Westminster Abbey from a unique perspective.
The royal church with more than 1,000 years of history holds a special place in the heart of the youngest politician and first Muslim to carry the title: it was where his appointment was celebrated in a historic civil ceremony last year.
Attending the coronation on Saturday will mean the 23-year-old councillor, whose tenure in office ends on May 17, can bow out on a high note.
The Londoner, who has Moroccan heritage, has spent the past year serving as deputy high steward of the Abbey and attended weekly services there.
“It’s crazy to think about. Very few people get to experience a coronation and fewer actually get to be in the Abbey when the coronation takes place,” he told The National from his office opposite the venue.
“I think it has given itself a special meaning to me over the last year.
“Previously, Westminster Abbey was just … a tourist attraction. I don’t think I had ever been there. I never thought I’d have a role in there.
“Even though I’m Muslim, I have been able to appreciate what the Abbey does, especially the multifaith and interfaith stuff. At pretty much every service that I’ve been to, there’s always been representation of other faiths and I think that’s really important for a place as iconic as the Abbey.”
Westminster Abbey through the years – in pictures
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The north front of Westminster Abbey, London, circa 1689, before the extensions designed by Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor. All photos: Getty Images -
An ancient view, circa 1700, of St James's Palace, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Hall from the village of Charing, now Charing Cross -
Westminster Abbey in 1740 with the new towers and spires as designed by Christopher Wren and built by Nicholas Hawksmoor -
The coronation of Edward VII in Westminster Abbey in 1902 -
Mourners file past the tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey, London, 1920 -
Workmen clean the stonework of the vaulting of Henry VII's Chapel, Westminster Abbey, after the completion of masonry repairs in 1934 -
The interior of Westminster Abbey after a German bombing raid in 1941 during the Second World War -
The verger of Westminster Abbey examines the wreckage of the magnificent canopy, lying broken in a pool of water during the Second World War in 1941 -
Westminster Abbey's team of bell ringers practising their royal wedding peal in 1947 -
Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, walks up the aisle of Westminster Abbey with her father King George VI to marry Prince Philip in November 1947 -
A view of Westminster Abbey taken from Big Ben in 1950 -
Queen Elizabeth at her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey in 1953 -
A worker positioning the single hand of the Ting-Tang Quarter Turret clock after it was removed for cleaning in 1960 -
Westminster Abbey in 1965 -
Jewellery maker Mrs Hughs of Cambridge restoring the gilded collar and pendant on the effigy of Queen Elizabeth I on her tomb at Westminster Abbey in 1975 -
A view of Big Ben from a window in the bell tower in 2009 -
Prince William with his bride Kate Middleton during their wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey in 2011 -
A conservator works on the framework of a window at Westminster Abbey in 2016 -
'The Light of the Spirit Chapter 2' by Patrice Warrener at Westminster Abbey, part of the Lumiere London festival of light 2018 -
Window cleaners on the new tower at Westminster Abbey in 2018 -
Queen Elizabeth inspects a bouquet of flowers placed on her behalf at the grave of the Unknown Warrior in 2020 to mark the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Warrior -
Prince William speaks to staff during a visit to the Covid-19 vaccination centre at Westminster Abbey in 2021 -
King Charles III follows the coffin of Queen Elizabeth as it leaves Westminster Abbey after her state funeral in September 2022 -
A 'Trees For Life' Covid-19 memorial service at Westminster Abbey in October 2022 -
Westminster Abbey in April 2023, where King Charles's coronation ceremony will take place next month
While Mr Taouzzale said he was thrilled to receive an invitation to the coronation, he was disappointed not to be able to take his mother Soud because “she really wanted to go”. Having joined him as consort at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September, this time Soud will watch the ceremony on television at the family home on Lisson Green Estate in Marylebone.
After the formalities have concluded, the lord mayor will have another important engagement to attend – a visit with his grandmother Fatima, who is terminally ill with cancer.
“The first thing I’ll do is go home to my grandmother and show her the pictures,” he said. “As she’s lying down on the bed, I’ll say to her: 'Look, this is me.' Just to show her that her grandson has done something. That’s the aim. As long as everyone in my family is proud and happy about me, then I’m good to go. I do everything for them. They’re the ones that encouraged me and got me to where I need to be.”
The coronation ceremony will be a bittersweet moment for Mr Taouzzale because he will be reminded of his family’s long-standing connection to the royals.
His grandfather Mokhtar worked as a porter in Buckingham Palace for nearly 20 years and often spoke fondly of the royal family.
Memorably, the two of them crept quietly along the corridors of the queen's London residence late one evening to collect some keys that Mokhtar had accidentally left behind in the staff quarters when Hamza was only about six years old.
“He would have been proud,” the lord mayor said, holding open the elaborately decorated coronation invitation on his desk.
He was playing football with friends when the notification announcing the date of the coronation came through on his phone. His first course of action was to check if the event would take place before his cut-off date as lord mayor when he would hand over the baton to his successor and return to councillor duties. What followed, Mr Taouzzale concedes, was a sigh of relief.
“It would have been horrible if I had missed it by a day,” he said, adding it would be “absolutely fantastic” to attend in person.
His witnessing of the coronation of King Charles – who he jokes is “one of my residents” – will come just weeks after Mr Taouzzale delivered a speech to the monarch at the palace.
“I said, 'Thank you for being king, it’s fantastic to have you.' I told him that he was the monarch to represent us all, especially younger people. I think he’s been able to diversify the role a lot more.
“When he’s able to speak out about certain issues such as climate change stuff, when he’s able to speak out about being a defender of all faiths as opposed to a defender of the one faith, that brings people in. That means he’s able to relate to his people, he’s able to relate to us as normal citizens, and us as young people.”
