Crowds fall silent as Liam Payne’s coffin arrives at church where is funeral is taking place
Liam Payne’s friends and family attend his funeral at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, today (Wednesday, November 20)
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Crowds lined the streets as the funeral of Wolverhampton singer Liam Payne got underway in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
His family and friends gathered for the sad occasion with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy among the first to arrive.
One Direction stars Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson were also in attendance along with Girls Aloud singers Nicola Robers and Imberley Walsh.
The entrance of the church which is hosting the service has been decorated with candle lanterns and white roses that have been arranged in surrounding shrubbery.
A horse-drawn carriage has arrived at St Mary’s Church carrying a dark blue coffin with silver handles, topped with white roses.
On top of the carriage, there was a red floral tribute which said “son” and a blue tribute which said “daddy”.
Silence fell upon the crowd as Liam Payne’s father Geoff Payne and his mother Karen got out of a vehicle and stood behind the reverend, next to the carriage.
The dark blue coffin was carried by undertakers from the front of St Mary’s through the churchyard, and inside the building via the side door.
Read more: One Direction and Girls aloud members among celebrity mourneres at Liam Payne funeral
Payne, 31, died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
Following Payne’s death fans around the world held vigils in his memory, including a shrine to the late star in his hometown of Wolverhampton.
He died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage”, a post-mortem examination report said.
Payne rose to fame alongside Styles, Tomlinson, Malik and Horan when Simon Cowell put them together to form One Direction on ITV talent show The X Factor in 2010.
He had first auditioned in 2008 when he was 14, singing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, with judge Cowell telling him to return to the talent show two years later.
In 2010 he impressed the judges with Michael Buble’s version of Cry Me A River before being put with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage of the competition – the group which later became One Direction.
Payne went on to launch a successful solo career, releasing his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019, which included the songs Polaroid and Strip That Down featuring Quavo.
One of his most well-known songs, For You, was a collaboration between him and singer Rita Ora for the film Fifty Shades Freed.
He and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, who were in a relationship between 2016 and 2018, share a son, Bear.
