News

Harry Styles attends Liam Payne’s funeral with One Direction bandmates: He and Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson say goodbye to their friend – and are joined by host of stars

Family members have joined some of Britain’s biggest stars to pay their respects to Liam Payne in an emotional private service after his tragic death at the age of just 31.

Harry Styles, 30, joined fellow members of One Direction to celebrate the life of their beloved former bandmate, having described feeling ‘completely devastated’ after he fell from a hotel balcony in Argentina last month.

Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, 43, were among the first to arrive as they rallied around their fellow Girls Aloud member Cheryl, who is the mother of Payne’s seven-year-old son, Bear. They were followed shortly after by Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy, 25, who was comforted by her friend Damian Hurley, 22.

Styles, 30, Niall Horan, 31, Zayn Malik, 31, and Louis Tomlinson, 32, arrived separately at the church in what is thought to be their first time together as a group since their last concert in 2015.

One Direction creator Simon Cowell arrived at the service with his girlfriend Lauren Silverman, alongside the likes of new Radio 2 Breakfast DJ Scott Mills, James Corden and Marvin and Rochelle Humes – walking past floral displays showing bowling pins and a ball in a poignant reference to Payne’s love of bowling.

A horse-drawn carriage later arrived at the 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 Payne’s father Geoff and his mother Karen got out of a vehicle and stood next to the carriage before the dark blue coffin was carried into the church through a side door.

Also read:

Other celebrities attending the service include Capital radio DJs Chris Stark, Jordan North and Sian Welby, who arrived together.

Scott Mills, who spent a lot of time with One Direction in the early days of their career, wore a black long coat over dark trousers for the service.

Former professional footballer Robbie Keane and broadcaster Adrian Chiles were also amongst the mourners gathering to pay their last respects to Payne.

Niall Horan and his girlfriend Amelia Woolley were dropped off by a black Range Rover and went straight into the church, while Harry Styles was accompanied by actor and presenter James Corden.

JLS star Marvin Humes wore a long back coat, black trousers and black gloves while Rochelle also donned a long coat with cape detailing.

The funeral’s location has been a closely guarded secret, and local residents only realised it was taking place when ‘no parking’ signs were erected around the church.

Two traffic enforcement officers patrolled the area handing out tickets to any drivers ignoring the signs.

Payne travelled to Argentina in September where he watched former bandmate Niall Horan perform and also saw his close friend Rogelio ‘Roger’ Nores. He had extended his stay to renew his visa to live in the US when the tragedy occurred.

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.

In a joint statement released following Payne’s death, Tomlinson, Malik, Horan, and Styles said they were ‘completely devastated.’

‘In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say,’ they said.

‘But for now, we will 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. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us.

‘We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam – Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry.’

Tomlinson, Styles and Malik all later released separate tributes.

Styles wrote on Instagram that he was ‘truly devastated’ and will ‘miss him always’.

‘His greatest joy was making other people happy and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.

‘Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious.

‘He was warm, supportive and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.

‘My heart breaks for Karen, Geoff, Nicola and Ruth, his son Bear, and all those around the world who knew him and loved him, as I did.’

Tomlinson said in a separate emotional tribute that he was ‘really struggling with the idea of saying goodbye’.

He posted a picture on his Instagram page of the two of them on stage with Payne lovingly putting his arm over Tomlinson’s shoulder.

Tomlinson said he would be an uncle to Payne’s son Bear if he ‘ever needs me’ and ‘tell him stories of how amazing his dad was’.

‘I’m so grateful that we got even closer since the band, speaking on the phone for hours, reminiscing about all the thousands of amazing memories we had together is a luxury I thought I’d have with you for life,’ he wrote.

‘I would have loved to share the stage with you again but it wasn’t to be.

‘I wish I got a chance to say goodbye and tell you one more time how much I loved you.

‘Payno, my boy, one of my best friends, my brother, I love you mate. Sleep well X’.

Malik said he had been talking out loud to Payne ‘hoping you can hear me’.

In his own heart wrenching tribute, he said he had ‘lost a brother when you left us’.

‘And I can’t explain you what I’d give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you dearly,’ he wrote.

‘I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever. There is no words that justify or explain how I feel right now other than beyond devastated. I hope that wherever you are right now you are good and are at peace and you know how loved you are. Love you bro.’

Related Posts

Elon Musk is more popular than Keir Starmer: PMs net approval rating among British public is five points lower than billionaire Tesla owner, survey reveals

Elon Musk is now more popular with the British public than Keir Starmer, a new poll has revealed. The Tesla founder, who has grown close to Donald Trump and is set to play a major role in his administration, has a net approval rating of -17, five points better than the Prime Minister on -22. Mr Musk is a vocal critic of the Labour leader, with the billionaire attacking his response to the summer race riots and most recently accusing him of going ‘full Stalin’ over his inheritance tax raid on farmers.

Morning Joe host reveals ‘takeaway’ from his controversial meeting with Trump as fallout continues

Joe Scarborough has revealed one takeaway from his controversial meeting with president-elect Donald Trump. The MSNBC star, 61, said on Wednesday’s episode of ‘Morning Joe’ that Trump was having issues with his Secretary of Defense choice Pete Hegseth. Shortly after Trump announced Hegseth for the job, it emerged that the Fox News pundit made a payment to a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017.

Denzel Washington boasts new sober lifestyle after $4M wine cellar caused him to drink two bottles DAILY

Denzel Washington revealed that December 2024 will mark a decade since he had any wine. The movie star, 69, spoke to Esquire magazine amid his promotional tour for his new film Gladiator II – explaining that he started drinking two bottles of expensive wine a day after he and his wife Pauletta built a house in 1999 that had a 10,000 bottle wine cellar. Denzel said he would stop the habit while preparing to work on a film and also during filming – but immediately resume once his projects wrapped – a pattern he did for 15 years.

Kate Cassidy says goodbye to ‘love of my life’: Liam Payne’s heartbroken girlfriend who revealed after his death that they had planned to get married joins mourners at funeral

Liam Payne’s heartbroken girlfriend Kate Cassidy has arrived at the funeral of the tragic One Direction star she described as ‘the love of my life’. Ms Cassidy was seen arriving at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, ahead of this afternoon’s ceremony, dressed in a long black coat with fur trim and wearing sunglasses. Payne died aged 31 on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

Liam Payne’s parents’ moment of comfort for heartbroken Simon Cowell: Music mogul is hugged by singer’s mother and father after One Direction star’s private funeral

Liam Payne’s parents Geoff and Karen hugged a heartbroken Simon Cowell as he sought to comfort them following their son’s funeral today. The heartfelt embrace took place outside the church where Payne was remembered in an emotional service following his tragic death at the age of just 31. Cowell’s girlfriend, Lauren Silverman, stood at a distance away while the 65-year-old shared a private moment with the grieving couple – who paid a final tribute to the beloved singer with a floral tribute beside his coffin spelling out the word ‘son’.

Moscow reveals Putin is prepared to discuss Ukraine peace deal with Trump – and the terms required to end the conflict that has brought Europe to the brink of WW3

Moscow has revealed that Vladimir Putin is prepared to discuss a Ukraine ceasefire deal with Donald Trump and the terms required to end the bloody conflict. The Russian leader is reportedly open to conversing with the US President-elect but has ruled out making any major territorial concessions and insists Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO, according to five sources cited by Reuters. In the first detailed reporting of what tyrant Putin would accept in any deal brokered by Trump, the five unnamed current and former Russian officials said the Kremlin could broadly agree to freeze the conflict along the front lines.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *