Cheryl Tweedy and One Direction members mourn Liam Payne at funeral

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.

Music mogul Simon Cowell was seen embracing Payne’s father Geoff and mother Karen as they left the church.

Singer Cheryl Tweedy paid tribute to her former partner Liam Payne at the service
Singer Cheryl Tweedy paid tribute to her former partner Liam Payne at the service (Jonathan Brady/PA)

A red floral tribute which read “son” and a blue tribute which said “daddy” were also on the funeral carriage.

Liam Payne funeral
Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman after the funeral service of One Direction singer Liam Payne (Jonathan Brady/PA)

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.

Liam Payne funeral
Harry Styles attended the service alongside his fellow One Direction band members (Andrew Matthews/PA)

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.

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Niall Horan after the funeral (PA)

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.”

Liam Payne performing in 2019
Liam Payne performing in 2019 (PA)

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 GoFundMe 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.

Members of the public line the route to the church
Members of the public line the route to the church (Jonathan Brady/PA)

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”.

Liam Payne funeral
Kate Cassidy and Damian Hurley (centre) arrive for the funeral service of One Direction singer Liam Payne at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire (Jonathan Brady/PA)

“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.

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