stephen hawking
Physicist Stephen Hawking sits on stage during an announcement of the Breakthrough Starshot initiative with investor Yuri Milner in New York April 12, 2016. Reuters/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

The ashes of British physicist Stephen Hawking will be interred at Westminster Abbey in London, near the graves of fellow scientists Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton. A private funeral service for Hawking is scheduled at the end of the month, and a service at Westminster will be held later this year.

Westminster Abbey has become the final resting place of several monarchs and of some of the most significant figures in British history. On Tuesday, it announced that it would hold a Service of Thanksgiving for Hawking.

John Hall, the Dean of Westminster, said in a statement that it is "entirely fitting" that the professor is buried near the remains of his fellow distinguished scientists.

English physicist Sir Isaac Newton, who formulated the law of universal gravitation, was buried in the same place in 1727. Charles Darwin, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution, was buried beside him in 1882.

Interment inside Westminster Abbey is an honour that is rarely bestowed. Latest burials include the remains of scientists like Ernest Rutherford in 1937 and Joseph John Thomson in 1940. Rutherford discovered electrons, while Thomson is a pioneer of nuclear physics.

Hawking passed away at age 76 on March 14, 2018 on what would have been German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein’s 139th birthday. His family announced that his funeral will occur on Easter Saturday at Great St Mary's, the University Church in Cambridge.

The professor’s family said he was an "integral and highly recognisable part of the university and the city."

"For this reason, we have decided to hold his funeral in the city that he loved so much and which loved him,” they added.

The service will be traditional and inclusive, with the aim to reflect the breadth and diversity of his life.

Hawking passed away last week after a lifetime spent studying the universe’s origins, the mysteries of black holes as well as the nature of time itself. One of the world's most recognisable scientists was confined to a wheelchair for most of his life and had to speak through a voice synthesiser. He developed motor neurone disease at 21.

He became an inspiration to many as his life stood testament to the fact that anyone can shine in adversity. His passing was met with tributes from around the world.