Hundreds pay respects to Dr Hawking st funeral in Cambridge

A large crowd of people, many of them celebrities, broke into applause as the remains of eminent scientist Dr Stephen Hawking were brought into a church in Cambridge for a private funeral ceremony.

The funeral was attended by 500 invited guests.

Hundreds of people were seen waiting along the streets in Cambridge ahead of the procession.

Among those who attended the 76-year-old scientist’s funeral was actor Eddie Redmayne, who played the role of Dr Hawking in the 2014 film The Theory Of Everything.

Redmayne read from the Ecclesiastes during the service at St. Mary the Great Church.

There was also a reading by Britain’s Astronomer Royal, Martin Rees. One of Dr Hawking’s children and a former student spoke as well.

Stephen Hawking died on 14 March at the age of 76. He was diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21 years. The illness caused him to lose his physical strength.

He went on to do path breaking research into black holes and other phenomena.

Dr Hawking will be cremated at a later date. His ashes will be kept at Westminster Abbey in London near the remains of fellow scientist, Isaac Newton.