Heaney had spearheaded the campaign for Hughes to be remembered in Poets' Corner.

BBC: Ted Hughes Poets' Corner memorial nears TS Eliot

It was announced last year that Hughes would be honoured in Poets' Corner but the exact location was not known.

BBC: Ted Hughes Poets' Corner memorial nears TS Eliot

At the same time, the Dean of Westminster, Arthur Stanley, was searching for a famous writer to boost the standing of Westminster Abbey in British life, and Dickens was seen as the ideal candidate to be laid to rest in Poets' Corner.

BBC: The empty grave of Charles Dickens