Cheryl Tweedy and One Direction members mourn Liam Payne at funeral
Singers Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson gathered with other mourners at the private funeral in Buckinghamshire.
Cheryl Tweedy and members of One Direction were among the friends and family to pay their final respects to Liam Payne at his funeral.
Singers Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson reunited alongside other mourners at the private funeral in Buckinghamshire to remember Payne following his death aged 31 in Argentina last month.
Girls Aloud star Tweedy, who was in a relationship with Payne between 2016 and 2018, was seen leaving the service at St Mary’s Church in Amersham wearing a black coat and black sunglasses.
Music mogul Simon Cowell was seen embracing Payne’s father Geoff and mother Karen as they left the church.
A horse-drawn carriage took the dark blue coffin with silver handles, which was topped with white roses, to the service.
A red floral tribute which read “son” and a blue tribute which said “daddy” were also on the funeral carriage.
Following the service, near Payne’s home in Chalfont St Giles, his coffin was carried to a black Jaguar hearse.
Bandmate Styles, dressed in black, arrived at the funeral in a BMW alongside actor and TV host James Corden, while X Factor judge Cowell arrived with his fiancee, Lauren Silverman.
Horan attended with his girlfriend Amelia Woolley, while Malik arrived shortly after Tomlinson.
Other guests include Payne’s girlfriend, US influencer Kate Cassidy, who arrived alongside Damian Hurley, the son of model Elizabeth Hurley.
Girls Aloud singers Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, who wore long black coats and sunglasses, supported their bandmate Tweedy.
Capital radio DJs Chris Stark, Jordan North and Sian Welby all paid tribute, as well as new BBC Radio 2 breakfast host Scott Mills, former professional footballer Robbie Keane and broadcaster Adrian Chiles.
JLS star and TV presenter Marvin Humes, who met Payne when he first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008, attended with his wife, The Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes.
Rev Jonny Rapson, the vicar who led the service, said in a statement to the PA news agency: “We will continue to hold Liam, his family and his loved ones in our prayers on what must have been a very difficult day.”
A handful of local people and fans gathered outside the church to pay their final respects to Payne, who died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
Tara Lloyd, 20, a ward hostess at Amersham Hospital, said: “He was a great guy, Liam Payne. The way he passed away was very sudden – I was very shocked and at first I was a little bit in denial.
“Growing up, I was a massive fan of One Direction, so I almost felt like a little piece of the child in me was gone.”
Heidi Camp, 33, who lives in Chesham, said: “Of all the places in England, it’s quite an honour that his family has chosen to do this here.”
She said she first became a fan of Payne’s when he appeared as a solo auditioner on The X Factor in 2010, just before One Direction was formed.
Fans around the world held vigils in his memory after his death, and a shrine to him was created in his home town of Wolverhampton.
After the funeral, a donation page was set up in Payne’s name to “continue Liam’s legacy” by helping to build a new Children’s Cancer Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Liz Tait, director of fundraising at the hospital’s charity, said: “We’re extremely touched and grateful for the thousands of pounds in generous donations we’ve received in memory of Liam, which will go towards building a brand new Children’s Cancer Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
“Our thoughts and sincere condolences go out to Liam’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
He died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage”, a post-mortem examination report said.
He rose to fame alongside Styles, Tomlinson, Malik and Horan when Cowell put them together to form One Direction on ITV talent show The X Factor in 2010.
His bandmates said they were “completely devastated” and will miss the singer “terribly”.
In a joint statement, they said they would say more in time but were going to take some time to “grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly”.
“The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever,” they added.
The singers also all reflected on their memories from their time together and their love for Payne in individual statements.
After One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in 2016, Payne launched a successful solo career, releasing his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019, which included the songs Polaroid and Strip That Down featuring Quavo.
