Professor Stephen Hawking’s final act of kindness carried out before his death has been revealed by a charity for the homeless.
According to them, as the world-renowned scientist's funeral took place on the other side of Cambridge, those in need were treated to an Easter lunch paid for by the physicist.
His parting gift was put on at Wesley Methodist Church, where mourners gathered on Saturday to celebrate the life of Prof Hawking.
A touching note, signed by 'the Hawking family', was left on the tables and told the 50 guests that the lunch was a 'gift from Stephen'.
The organizers, FoodCycle, said that the late professor was given a 'little cheer' by diners before they tucked into their meals.
Thousands lined the streets of Cambridge on Saturday for the funeral of the theoretical physicist, who died peacefully at his home earlier this month.
Eddie Redmayne, who played the professor in 2014's The Theory of Everything, was among 500 guests invited to the University Church of St Mary the Great.
The church bell tolled 76 times, once for each year of Prof Hawking's life, as the solid oak coffin adorned with floral tributes arrived in a hearse.
Prof Hawking died peacefully at his Cambridge home on March 14 at the age of 76. The cosmologist had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease in his 20s.
