Cemeteries and graves are more than just sombre spaces – they are places of reflection, history and tribute, where visitors can honour legendary figures who shaped the world. From Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe to Muhammad Ali, Oscar Wilde and Elvis Presley, we’ve explored the final resting places of some of history’s most influential names.
Click through this gallery to discover where your favourite stars are laid to rest...
Following the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, she was laid to rest on an island within the Oval Lake at Althorp House, the ancestral estate of the Spencer family in Northamptonshire.
While the estate is open to visitors during July and August, the island remains off-limits to the public. However, guests can pay their respects at The Temple, a nearby memorial featuring quotes from Diana and her brother, Charles Spencer.
Legendary singer and Hollywood icon Frank Sinatra took his final bow in May 1998, passing away at the age of 82 from a heart attack. True to his larger-than-life persona, his funeral in Beverly Hills was attended by Hollywood royalty, musicians and world leaders.
Sinatra was buried (with a bottle of Jack Daniel's and a pack of cigarettes, no less) at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California, beneath a headstone engraved with the epitaph: 'The Best Is Yet to Come'. Fans who visit his final resting place often leave pennies on his grave for luck – a nod to his classic hit Pennies from Heaven.
Emmeline Pankhurst, the trailblazing campaigner for women's suffrage, died in June 1928 at the age of 69, just three weeks before British law finally granted all women over 21 the right to vote – a cause she had fought for tirelessly.
Her funeral at St John’s Church in Smith Square, Westminster, was attended by crowds who came to honour her legacy. She was laid to rest in Brompton Cemetery, a sprawling Grade I-listed burial ground in West London. Her grave, marked by a striking Celtic cross, continues to receive tributes from those who recognise her pivotal role in shaping history.
Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer and civil rights icon, passed away in June 2016 at the age of 74, after living with Parkinson’s disease for over three decades. He was laid to rest in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky – the city where he was born, and where he took up boxing at the age of 12.
Marked by a striking granite headstone, his grave bears the inscription: 'Service to others is the rent you pay for your room in heaven'. A steady stream of visitors come to pay their respects, leaving flowers, boxing gloves and heartfelt messages.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the iconic civil rights leader, rests in a Georgia marble tomb beside an eternal flame, symbolising his enduring legacy. His final resting place is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, a site that honours his life through monuments, museums and landmarks.
After his assassination in 1968, King’s body was carried in a mule-drawn wagon to Southview Cemetery, reflecting his commitment to the working class. In 1970, his remains were moved to The King Center campus, and in 2006 his crypt was rebuilt to include the remains of his wife, Coretta Scott King.
After a state funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral on 30 January 1965 – the first for a politician in the 20th century – Sir Winston Churchill was laid to rest next to his family, in a private burial at St Martin’s Church in Bladon, just beyond the grounds of Blenheim Palace, where he was born.
In 2015, a stained glass window was installed in the church to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his passing, a lasting tribute to Britain’s wartime leader.
Along with many other British literary greats, writer Thomas Hardy’s ashes lie buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. The writer’s remains were interred here on 16 January 1928, just north of the grave of Victorian novelist Charles Dickens.
However, his heart remains buried in the churchyard of Stinsford in his beloved Dorset, in the same grave as his wife Emma (pictured) and where his parents also lie.
South Africa's first democratically elected president and the country’s first Black leader was laid to rest in his ancestral home of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape province, on 16 December 2013, following a state funeral.
Born Rolihlahla Mandela, the global icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner died at the age of 95. The burial site in the rural region was opened for the public to pay their respects in 2017.
Often lauded as the epitome of grace and elegance, Audrey Hepburn passed away in January 1993 at 63, following a battle with appendiceal cancer. She spent her final years in the Swiss countryside, where she was laid to rest in Tolochenaz Cemetery, the peaceful village she called home.
Her grave, marked by a crucifix headstone, sits beneath a canopy of trees, often adorned with flowers and tributes from fans worldwide. Though best known for Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Roman Holiday, Hepburn was also devoted to humanitarian work with UNICEF, using her fame to advocate for children in need around the world.
Jimi Hendrix, one of the most influential rock musicians of all time, tragically became part of the infamous '27 Club' – a group of legendary artists who died far too young. In 1970, the guitar icon was found dead from an overdose in a Notting Hill apartment, aged just 27 years old.
For years, his grave in Greenwood Memorial Park, Seattle was marked by a simple headstone in the family plot. In 2002, Hendrix was reburied beneath a striking stone dome memorial, a fitting tribute to an artist who reshaped rock music forever.
Father and son Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee are buried side by side on a hillside in Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, a site that has become a place of pilgrimage for fans worldwide.
Bruce Lee, the legendary martial artist and film star, died in 1973 at just 32 years old. 20 years later, in 1993, his son Brandon was tragically killed aged 28, in a prop gun accident while filming The Crow in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was laid to rest beside his father, their graves serving as a lasting tribute to their legacies in martial arts and cinema.
Actress and first lady of Argentina, Maria Eva Duarte de Perón ('Evita'), is buried in La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires. After lying in state for 13 days, her body was embalmed to ensure it would stay perfectly preserved for years.
Decades of political instability followed and Evita’s casket was sent to Europe for safety, before being allowed back to Argentina and the Duarte family tomb. Her crypt is heavily fortified and lies deep underground to protect her remains.
Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, is the final resting place of many Hollywood greats, including Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn.
The vast, privately owned landscaped grounds are visited by more than a million people every year, although mapping of specific interments is discouraged. Humphrey Bogart’s burial spot is completely private and the crypts of Clark Gable and Errol Flynn are behind a chain rope.
Walt Disney, the visionary behind the world's most loved animated films, passed away in December 1966 at the age of 65. A lifelong storyteller, his final chapter came after a battle with lung cancer, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape entertainment.
Following his death, he was cremated and laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. His ashes are interred in a private, gated section of the cemetery’s Freedom Mausoleum, marked by a simple plaque which also bears the names of his wife, daughter and her husband.
The lipstick-covered tomb of Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde can be found in the beautiful Cimetière du Père Lachaise in the 20th arrondissement of Paris.
Wilde died in 1900 and was buried outside of the city until money was donated for a more fashionable burial plot and tomb in division 89 of the cemetery. Greasy lipstick kisses and cleaning were causing irreparable damage to the monument, designed by sculptor Jacob Epstein, so in 2011 his tomb was restored and protected by a glass barrier.
American rock legend and The Doors frontman Jim Morrison is another famous name in Paris’ sprawling Cimetière du Père Lachaise, and his resting place has become a must-visit for many visitors.
Morrison died in Paris in 1971 aged just 27, and his grave has always been a place of pilgrimage for fans. A bust was added in 1981, but later stolen. Graffiti has been a major problem over the decades so a barricade now keeps mourners at bay.
Despite being one of history’s greatest playwrights, much about William Shakespeare’s life and death remains a mystery. He was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, beneath a gravestone that does not bear his name. Instead, it features an epitaph, believed to have been written by Shakespeare himself, warning against disturbing his remains.
The ominous warning doesn't seem to have worked, though – a 2016 archaeological study using ground-penetrating radar suggested that Shakespeare’s skull may be missing, possibly stolen by grave robbers in the 18th century.
Marie Laveau, the renowned 19th-century Voodoo priestess of New Orleans, is interred in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, the city's oldest burial ground established in 1789. Her tomb, part of the Glapion family crypt, historically attracted numerous visitors who left offerings and marked the tomb with 'X' symbols, leading to significant wear and vandalism.
To protect this historic site, the Archdiocese of New Orleans now permits access exclusively through licensed guided tours. These tours provide insights into the cemetery's rich history and its notable residents, including Laveau. Visitors are required to book in advance, as walk-in entries are not allowed.
Beloved children's author Roald Dahl died in 1990 at the age of 74. He is buried at St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Great Missenden, England – his home for over 36 years. Marked by a simple stone, his grave sits in a churchyard surrounded by countryside, with a memorial bench and a trail of footprints leading to his resting place.
Fans often leave flowers, trinkets, and even Wonka Bars in tribute. Nearby, The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre offers a deeper look into his life, making Great Missenden a treasured site for lovers of his many books.
With its Gothic architecture and overgrown pathways, Highgate Cemetery in North London is one of the city's most atmospheric burial grounds. Established in the 19th century, it has long been a place of mystery and history, home to the final resting places of literary greats like Douglas Adams and George Eliot.
Among its most famous graves is that of Karl Marx, the father of Marxism, who died in 1883. His Grade II-listed monument, featuring a striking bust of the philosopher, remains a site of political pilgrimage.
The Ehrengräber (honorary graves) section of Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) in Vienna has an impressive list of interments: composers Beethoven, Brahms and Schubert are all buried here, and there's a memorial to Mozart too.
The Austrian capital's multi-denominational cemetery is so vast (there are more than 300,000 graves and crypts) that it now has its own train station and a bus that loops the grounds.
Mozart, the renowned Austrian composer, passed away in 1791 and was interred in Vienna's St. Marx Cemetery (Sankt Marxer Friedhof). At the time, it was customary for individuals to be buried in unmarked communal graves, which has led to uncertainty about the exact location of Mozart's remains.
In 1859, a monument was erected at the presumed site of his grave; however, this memorial was relocated to Vienna's Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) in 1891, joining the honorary graves of other illustrious composers. Today, visitors to St. Marx Cemetery will find a cenotaph marking the supposed resting place of Mozart, featuring a weeping angel and a broken column.
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963 remains one of the most scrutinised events in modern history. His final resting place is at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC, where an eternal flame burns as a lasting tribute to his legacy.
In the three years following his death, over 16 million people visited his gravesite, a testament to his enduring impact. In 1994, his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was laid to rest beside him, ensuring that the couple who captured the world’s imagination in life would remain together in history.
The body of the French military leader was originally interred on the island of St Helena, where he was exiled and died aged 51 in 1821. An empty tomb now marks what was his resting place of 19 years.
Napoleon’s remains were transferred to France in 1840, where a grand funeral procession took place through Paris to Les Invalides, where he was laid to rest. The red quartzite tomb that now honours the controversial leader was not completed for another 20 years.
Gravesend in Kent is the unlikely burial place for Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief of the Powhatan peoples, Wahunsenaca. She married Englishman John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1614 and sailed to England with him and their infant son.
But on their return journey to Virginia in 1617, she was taken ashore in Gravesend, either dead or dying, and buried in the chancel of St George's Church. A replica of Jamestown’s statue of Pocahontas was unveiled in the grounds in 1958.
The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll rests in the Meditation Garden at Graceland, his beloved Memphis mansion. In 1977, at just 42 years old, Presley suffered a fatal heart attack, sending shockwaves through the music world.
Originally buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, his remains, along with those of his mother, were relocated to Graceland after security concerns and grave tampering attempts. A memorial also honours his twin brother, Jesse, who died at birth. While Graceland typically requires an admission fee, visitors can pay their respects at his gravesite for free during a dedicated visiting hour from 7.30am to 8.30am daily.
Anti-establishment actor and director Dennis Hopper (of Easy Rider and Apocalypse Now fame) is buried in Jesus Nazareno Cemetery, Ranchos de Taos.
His grave is a simple Indigenous-style burial mound covered by rocks and stones, marked with a simple bandana-bound wooden cross. His widow said that Hopper thought of Taos as his 'heart home' – he and his family lived in this part of New Mexico for many years.
Regency-era writer Jane Austen died in her sister Cassandra’s arms, aged just 41. The cause of her death has been attributed to everything from cancer and Addison’s Disease to arsenic poisoning.
Austen had travelled to Winchester to seek medical advice but died and was buried shortly after in Winchester Cathedral, beneath the north aisle of the nave. Her simple headstone makes no mention of her writing but, due to her posthumous fame, there are now two further memorials to the brilliant Hampshire-based novelist in the cathedral.
American novelist and poet Sylvia Plath took her own life aged just 30. With a famously tempestuous marriage to Yorkshire-born poet Ted Hughes, which ended before her death in 1963, Plath is buried in St Thomas’ Churchyard in Heptonstall.
Her grave is marked with a simple headstone bearing the name of Sylvia Plath Hughes, although the 'Hughes' has been chiselled off several times by aggrieved fans of the writer.
Renowned Art Nouveau artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Tiffany, became famous for his exquisite stained-glass windows and lamps, which defined an era of decorative arts.
Tiffany passed away in 1933 and was laid to rest in Green-Wood Cemetery in New York City, a vast National Historic Landmark known for its stunning architecture and notable burials.
Sir Isaac Newton, one of history’s greatest physicists, mathematicians and astronomers, was granted the rare honour of burial in Westminster Abbey when he passed away in 1727 at the age of 84. His tomb lies in front of the choir screen, near a monument commemorating his groundbreaking contributions to science.
Newton's legacy is reflected in those who later joined him in Westminster Abbey. Charles Darwin was buried beside him in 1882, and in 2018, the ashes of Stephen Hawking were interred nearby – uniting three of the greatest scientific minds in history.
The father of the talented Brontë sisters was curate at St Michael and All Angels Church in the Yorkshire village of Haworth. Here in the unassuming little churchyard – which they overlooked from their parsonage home – Charlotte and Emily were laid to rest, along with their brother, Branwell, and two elder sisters. Only their sister Anne was buried elsewhere.
When Anne Brontë (author of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall) was diagnosed with tuberculosis – a disease that had already claimed four of her siblings – she travelled to Scarborough with her sister Charlotte to try and recuperate.
She died shortly afterwards, and was buried in the town’s St Mary’s Church, in a spot that overlooks the sea. A new plaque on her headstone in 2013 corrected an error on the original, which stated that she died aged 28 (she was, in fact, 29).
Dublin-born writer James Joyce is recognised as one of the most influential and experimental writers of the 20th century, best known for his novel Ulysses, published in 1922.
Joyce and his wife Nora Barnacle lived in various places around Europe, including Paris, Trieste and Zurich. They returned to the Swiss city in late 1940, escaping the Nazis' occupation of France. Joyce died in January 1941 and was buried at Fluntern Cemetery in Zurich. His wife and son now lie buried next to him.
Popular British-Irish comedian Spike Milligan, known for his witty one-liners and speedy retorts, really did have the last laugh with his grave, which famously bears the epitaph 'I told you I was ill' (inscribed in Gaelic).
Milligan died in 2002, aged 83, and is buried in St Thomas’ Churchyard in Winchelsea, East Sussex. His third wife Shelagh Sinclair was later buried with him and her name controversially added to the headstone, despite some family objections.
English poet and painter William Blake died in obscurity and was buried in an unmarked shared grave in Islington’s Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. It wasn’t until 2018 that a new headstone was added to mark precisely where Blake lies.
The stone features a quote from Blake's poem Jerusalem and was unveiled on the 191st anniversary of his death. His final resting place was only discovered after over a decade’s worth of research and investigations by admirers of the Romantic poet.
One of the most tragic of England’s Romantic poets, John Keats died at just 25 years old in Rome. After contracting tuberculosis, he travelled to Italy in 1820 with friend Joseph Severn, in the hope that the warmer climate would improve his condition.
Sadly, he died in February 1821 and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome's Testaccio area. The touching epitaph 'here lies one whose name is writ in water' was carved on the headstone at his request. Severn, who died aged 85 in 1879, lies next to his friend. Fellow poet Percy Bysshe Shelley's grave is also in this cemetery – he drowned in the Gulf of Spezia, Italy, in 1822.
Robert Burns, or Rabbie Burns, is considered Scotland's national poet. There are museums and monuments dedicated to the man and his writing all over the world, including a statue in New York’s Central Park – but he died at home in Dumfries in 1796, and is buried in the local church of St Michael's.
A grander mausoleum (pictured) was erected in the southeast corner of the churchyard in 1815, paid for by public subscriptions, and his body reinterred there in 1817.
Legendary film star Marilyn Monroe died from a suspected drug overdose aged 36, and was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery with a funeral overseen by her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio.
All manner of conspiracy theories surround her tragic death and fans still leave flowers, mementos and lipstick kisses at her final resting place. Devotees of the star were outraged when it was revealed Hugh Hefner had purchased the crypt next to Monroe in 1992, so that he could be buried next to the first-ever cover star of his magazine Playboy.
The passionate love story between Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert is well documented. First cousins who were married for 21 years, Albert’s death from typhoid fever in 1861 devastated the queen, who had a mausoleum built for him in the gardens of Frogmore House, just south of Windsor Castle.
40 years later, Queen Victoria was laid to rest beside her beloved husband. Members of the public are not permitted inside the mausoleum, but the gardens are usually open for a few days a year.
Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in British history, ruling for 70 years. Following her death aged 96 in September 2022, she was succeeded by her son Prince Charles, now King Charles III.
The late Queen is buried in the Royal Vault (a small family crypt) beneath St George's Chapel together with her father George VI, Queen Mother, her sister Princess Margaret and husband Prince Philip, who passed away in 2021. While entrance to the chapel is included with a ticket to Windsor Castle, visitors can't enter the private vault itself.
Grace Kelly lived a real-life fairytale – Hollywood star turned princess of Monaco. But in September 1982 tragedy struck, when she suffered a stroke while driving, leading to a fatal crash. She was just 52 years old.
As the world mourned the tragic loss of an icon, she was laid to rest in the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate, the historic burial place of Monaco’s royals. Her grave now lies beside her husband, Prince Rainier III, who joined her in 2005. Decades later, fans still visit, leaving flowers in tribute to the woman whose legacy continues to inspire so many.