Funeral

Prof Hawking, who had motor neurone disease, died on 14 March, aged 76, at his home in the city.

Up to 500 invited family, friends and colleagues are expected at the private service being held at the university church, Great St Mary's, at 14:00.

Prof Hawking's ashes will be interred next to the grave of Sir Isaac Newton at Westminster Abbey in June.

Although the professor's funeral is private, crowds are expected to gather outside Great St Mary's in the centre of Cambridge to witness the arrival of the funeral cortege on Saturday afternoon.

In a moving funeral service, late Doctor Alphonse Rongap Snr's daughter, Dr Violet Rongap, said her dad was a simple and down-to-earth doctor who respected all he knew.

She said many of his studies and courses he took and the profession he had gone through were all for his children.

"What he gained during his training whilst serving respective hospitals in the country were for the betterment of the children.

"And through this, he had a lot of friends. He was so simple and humble,” she said through tear-filled eyes.

Finally, she spotted the man she'd been waiting for. She stepped out of her car, and her husband put his hands on his head in horror.

"Is it my eyes?" she recalled him saying. "Is it a ghost?"

"Surprise! I'm still alive!" she replied.