Liam Payne funeral latest: Cheryl, One Direction bandmates and singer’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy attend service
Pop star, who died in Buenos Aires last month, rose to fame with Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson as a member of the chart-topping boyband
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Your support makes all the difference.One Direction star Liam Payne’s funeral has taken place, with his family, closest friends and former bandmates attending the service.
Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy and Girls Aloud singers Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, who were pictured wearing long black coats and sunglasses, were among the first mourners to arrive.
Payne’s former bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik were also in attendance, along with TV presenter and actor James Corden, BBC Radio host Scott Mills, and music mogul Simon Cowell.
Dozens of locals and fans have also gathered outside the church to pay their final respects to the British singer, who died aged 31 after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room on 16 October.
Malik, Horan, Tomlinson and Styles said they were “devastated” by his passing but “the memories we shared with him will be treasured forever”.
For years, Payne was one of the biggest names in pop, having shot to fame with his One Direction bandmates after forming on The X Factor in 2010. During their five-year career, they sold 70 million records and achieved four No 1 singles and four No 1 albums.
Follow the latest updates below:
In pictures: Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik at Liam Payne’s funeral
One Direction star Liam Payne laid to rest after emotional funeral service attended by former bandmates
One Direction star Liam Payne was laid to rest at a private funeral attended by his family and former bandmates, one month after his death, aged 31.
Payne, who rose to fame in 2010 as a member of the biggest pop group since The Beatles, died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 16 October after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room.
His funeral took place on Wednesday (20 November) at St Mary’s Church in Buckinghamshire. Ahead of the service, garlands and wreaths of flowers were arranged outside the entrance and fans and locals gathered outside to pay their respects.
Among the first mourners to arrive was Payne’s girlfriend, US influencer Kate Cassidy, who was pictured walking into the church with model Damian Hurley, the son of Elizabeth Hurley.
Payne’s One Direction bandmate Harry Styles arrived in a BMW with his friend, TV presenter and actor James Corden, while fellow 1D singers Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan all turned up separately.
Full story:
One Direction star Liam Payne laid to rest after emotional funeral service
Stars including Harry Styles, Niall Horan, James Corden, Cheryl and Simon Cowell attended the service with Payne’s family
Kate Cassidy, girlfriend of Liam Payne, leaves funeral service
Liam Payne‘s girlfriend at the time of his death, US influencer Kate Cassidy, has left the churchyard after the singer’s funeral.
Tribute: ‘ Liam Payne drew the short straw in One Direction – now we’ll never know the real him'
Both in the band and out of it, the pop star struggled to find his defining identity, writes Mark Beaumont. Attempts at telling the world who he is with a second solo album and a documentary fell on deaf ears. His life now cut tragically short, the singer may remain elusive forever
Liam Payne drew the short straw in One Direction – now we’ll never know the real him
Both in the band and out of it, the pop star struggled to find his defining identity, writes Mark Beaumont. Attempts at telling the world who he is with a second solo album and a documentary fell on deaf ears. His life now cut tragically short, the singer may remain elusive forever
Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole’s relationship: Timeline from X Factor meeting to coparenting son Bear
Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole’s relationship: From X Factor meeting to coparenting
Couple first met on the ‘X Factor’ in 2008 and share a seven-year-old son together
Liam Payne’s funeral service has concluded
Simon Cowell held Liam Payne‘s parents Geoff and Karen in an embrace as they left the church.
The Revd. Jonny Rapson then walked in front of the hearse as the coffin and Liam Payne‘s parents drove off.
Liam Payne‘s coffin has been carried outside the church and placed inside the hearse.
Pictures: Cheryl Tweedy leaves funeral service of her former boyfriend Liam Payne
Liam Payne’s former partner shares one thing he was ‘most proud of’
Dancer and model Danielle Peazer, who dated One Direction star Liam Payne for two years until 2013, shared a lengthy tribute to singer following the news of his death.
Peazer remained on friendly terms with the singer, whom she met on ITV reality contest The X Factor in 2010, and revealed in her statement the one thing she believed he was “most proud of”.
Writing on Instagram on Sunday, she urged her followers to see Payne not just as “a world-famous musician for the last decade” but also “someone’s son and brother for more than 30 years, a friend to so many and more recently an uncle”.
“His most important role and something he was the most proud of out of all of his monumental successes was that he was a father,” Peazer said. “The thought that there is now a child growing up without one of their parents is heartbreaking and unfair.
“To Liam’s son Bear, as well as his parents and sisters, my love, thoughts and strength goes to you. The magnitude of this loss is incomprehensible and I will continue to support you in any way I am able to.”
Payne shared Bear with Girls Aloud star and X Factor judge Cheryl, whom he dated between 2016 to 2018.
Peazer said that, while her and Payne’s relationship might have ended in 2013, they knew they would share “some sort of connection forever”.
“It took a little longer for you to figure out the person you wanted to be in order to be your happiest, but whilst most of us have our teens and twenties to learn about ourselves, you spent those years giving more to the world than you ever needed to,” she said, addressing Payne.
“I wish you knew that you were always more than enough for this world without having to search for a role to play just to please others.”
She also wrote that in the more than a decade in which they knew each other, he knew “how I felt” and she often “hoped and prayed that this day would never come. But now we’re all facing the reality of living a life without your presence.”
“Thank you for teaching me about the importance of setting boundaries, and that I should always protect my heart,” she concluded.
Pictures: Liam Payne’s coffin arrives at church
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