Hawking ashes to be buried at Westminster Abbey... near Newton and Darwin

LONDON: Stephen Hawking's ashes will be buried near the graves of fellow British scientists Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin at Westminster Abbey, it was announced Tuesday.

The remains of the legendary physicist and icon, who died last week, will be laid in the church during a thanksgiving service later this year, the abbey said.

His family earlier confirmed the funeral will take place on March 31 at Great St Mary's church in Cambridge University, a short distance from Gonville and Caius College, where Hawking worked at unlocking the secrets of the universe for more than 52 years.

Hawking died aged 76 on March 14 after a cosmic career in which his mental genius transcended his physical disability.

Propelled to stardom by his 1988 book “A Brief History of Time”, an unlikely worldwide bestseller, Hawking's genius and wit won over fans from far beyond the rarefied world of astrophysics.

As a scientist, he earned comparisons with Newton and Albert Einstein.

Family, friends and colleagues will be invited to the private funeral service, which takes place at 2:00pm (1300 GMT). A private reception will be held afterwards at Trinity College.

Hawking was famously an atheist, something his children Lucy, Robert and Tim touched on, as they thanked people for their “wonderful tributes” and messages of condolence.

“Our father lived and worked in Cambridge for over 50 years. He was an integral and highly recognisable part of the university and the city,” they said.