Harry Styles and members of One Direction arrived at a London-area church on Wednesday to say their goodbyes to Liam Payne … just over a month after the singer’s death.The private service is taking place at St. Mary’s Church in Amersham — not far from Wolverhampton, the city near Birmingham where he was born.
Liam’s coffin arrived in a horse-drawn carriage carrying floral tributes spelling out “Daddy” and “Son.” Another floral display showed a bowling ball crashing through pins … reportedly a nod to the star’s love of the game.
Candle lanterns and white roses adorned the outside of the church as several men carried the coffin into the house of worship in front of Liam’s parents, Karen and Geoff.Liam’s former One Direction bandmates including Harry, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan were seen entering the church. Harry was spotted getting visibly emotional as he walked in.
Each of the four men wore traditional black suits and covered their eyes with dark sunglasses. Niall was seen giving hugs to at least one other mourner in attendance.Kate Cassidy, Liam’s girlfriend who was with him in Argentina days before he passed away, arrived in an all-black outfit, including a puffy fur-lined coat and thick sunglasses. Elizabeth Hurley‘s son, model Damian Hurley, walked alongside her.
Also in attendance was Cheryl Cole — the mother of Liam’s son, Bear — and her bandmates from the pop group Girls Aloud, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh.
Simon Cowell— who met Liam when he was only 14 and auditioned for “The X Factor” — was also in attendance. He was accompanied by his fiancée Lauren Silverman … wearing a black blazer that matched Cowell’s own.
Cowell stopped to speak with Liam’s parents outside the service … appearing to console Karen as she broke down in tears — while Geoff put his own reassuring hand on Simon’s back.Lauren came up and hugged both Geoff and Karen during this convo … and, it seems clear the four are truly sharing in each other’s grief.Other stars including James Corden were also in attendance … and dozens of fans and local people came out to watch the procession as well.
As we reported, Liam died after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel suite in Buenos Aires on October 16. Three suspects have been charged in connection to his death. As you know, Liam’s father traveled to Argentina to help police with their investigation … and, to bring his son’s body back to the UK.Weeks before his death, Liam saw one of his longtime friends and bandmembers … Niall Horan, who performed a show at Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires. During the show, Payne was filmed clapping, dancing and shaking hands with fans.
Since Liam’s death, there has been an outpouring of love from those closest to him, celebrities, fans and more. Despite going on hiatus in 2016, the members of One Direction released a joint statement memorializing LP shortly after his untimely death.One Direction was formed back in 2010 on the show “The X Factor” after judges Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger saw the five young men in the group perform … and felt they were simply too talented to send home.Instead, they helped the solo acts form a quintet and, while 1D didn’t win the competition, they did go on to become one of the most successful boy bands of all time.
