Hassan II Mosque in building and beautifying the mosque. However, the building was not completed on schedule which delayed inauguration. The formal inauguration was subsequently chosen to be the 11th Rabi' al-awwal of the year 1414 of the Hegira, corresponding to 30 August 1993, which also marked the eve of the anniversary of Prophet Muhammad’s birth. It was dedicated to the Sovereign of Morocco. Construction costs, estimated to be about 585 million euro, were an issue of debate in Morocco, a lower mid-income country. While Hassan wished to build a mosque which would be second in size only to the mosque at Mecca,
Napoleon II wishes. Napoleon II was residing in Austria with his mother and was probably not aware at the time that he had been proclaimed Emperor on his father's abdication. The next Bonaparte to ascend the throne of France, in 1852, would be Louis-Napoleon, the son of Napoleon's brother Louis I, King of Holland. He took the regnal name of Napoleon III. From the spring of 1814 onwards, the young Napoleon lived in Austria and was known as "Franz", his second given name. In 1818, he was awarded the title of Duke of Reichstadt by his maternal grandfather, Emperor Francis. He was