The stars come out for Stephen
Abbey tribute to Professor Hawking
ROYALTY, writers, musicians and politicians are all buried in Westminster Abbey – but few are as deserving, popular or inspiring as Professor Stephen Hawking.
His ashes were yesterday laid between Charles Darwin and Sir Isaac Newton, while a memorial stone has
been inscribed: “Here lies what was mortal of Stephen Hawking 1942 – 2018” above his most famous equation.
After the service, a recording of him saying a “message of hope” set to music composed by Vangelis was beamed at the nearest black hole. Stars of screen and the academic world, from David Walliams and Carol Vorderman, musician Nile Rodgers and Professor Brian Cox, to model Lily Cole and TV presenter Piers Morgan, gathered to say farewell.
A champion for the NHS and disabled people, Prof Hawking will be remembered for more than his contribution to science. Paying tribute was Tom Nabarro, 33, who was left paralysed in a snowboarding accident in 2007. He said: “Stephen helped our family face the new challenges with positive energy and enabled me to get to my graduation shortly after