Liam Payne’s One Direction bandmates among mourners at funeral

London: The former members of One Direction have reunited for the funeral of bandmate Liam Payne.

Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson joined friends and family at the service overnight (AEDT) for Payne, 31, who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last month.

A horse-drawn carriage carried the coffin to St. Mary’s Church in Amersham, 40 kilometres north-west of London. Undertakers carried the dark blue casket with silver handles, topped with white roses, into the 800-year-old church for the private service.

The funeral location was not made public in advance to prevent a large crowd from gathering, though dozens of local people and fans still gathered nearby.

“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,” said 20-year-old Tara Lloyd, who works at the nearby Amersham Hospital.

The crowd fell silent when Payne’s parents, Geoff and Karen, emerged from a car to stand beside the carriage, which was topped with floral tributes reading “Son” and “Daddy.” Payne had a 7-year-old son, Bear, with the singer Cheryl Tweedy.

Among the mourners were Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, actor and presenter James Corden, former soccer player Robbie Keane and music mogul Simon Cowell, who put One Direction together.

After the service, Cowell embraced Payne’s parents outside the church before the late singer’s coffin was driven away in a black hearse.

One Direction formed in 2010 after the five teenagers auditioned for The X-Factor as solo acts and were brought together by Cowell, a judge on the show.

With their loyal fan base of “Directioners”, they became one of the most successful boy bands of all time.

After the group’s 2016 split, Payne embarked on a solo career that failed to match One Direction’s success.

He was also open about struggling with his mental health and alcohol amid the pressures of fame.

Prosecutors in Argentina said Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of his room at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on October 16.

They have charged three people with “abandonment of a person followed by death” and “supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics.”

Shortly before Payne died, a hotel manager called 911 seeking help for an intoxicated guest. “When he’s conscious, he’s breaking everything in the room. We need someone to be sent, please,” the manager said.

An autopsy concluded Payne died from multiple traumas and internal and external haemorrhage resulting from the fall, according to a statement from prosecutors.

Three additional medical-legal reports found: “All the injuries … were compatible with those caused by a fall from a height and that self-harm of any kind and/or physical intervention by third parties were ruled out.”

AP

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