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One Direction members reunited alongside Simon Cowell at Liam Payne funeral

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Members of One Direction were reunited alongside music mogul Simon Cowell as they attended the funeral of bandmate Liam Payne.

Singers Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson joined other guests at the private funeral in Buckinghamshire to remember Payne following his death aged 31 last month.

Styles, dressed in black, arrived in a BMW alongside TV star James Corden and the pair went straight inside the church, while X Factor judge Cowell arrived with his fiancee, Lauren Silverman.

Harry Styles arrives for the funeral service of One Direction singer Liam Payne at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Harry Styles arrives for the funeral service of One Direction singer Liam Payne at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire (Andrew Matthews/PA)

A horse-drawn carriage 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”, in reference to the son, Bear, that Payne shares with Cheryl Tweedy.

Silence fell upon the crowd as Payne’s father Geoff and his mother Karen got out of a vehicle and stood behind the reverend, next to the carriage.

Former One Direction band member Niall Horan (centre) arrives for the funeral service of One Direction singer Liam Payne at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire (Jonathan Brady/PA)Former One Direction band member Niall Horan (centre) arrives for the funeral service of One Direction singer Liam Payne at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Former One Direction band member Niall Horan (centre) arrives for the funeral service of One Direction singer Liam Payne at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Other guests attending include Payne’s girlfriend, US influencer Kate Cassidy, who arrived alongside Damian Hurley, the son of model Elizabeth Hurley.

Girls Aloud singers Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh were dropped off in front of the entrance of St Mary’s Church in Amersham wearing long black coats and sunglasses.

Prior to the funeral starting dozens of locals and fans gathered 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.

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)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)
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)

Following Payne’s death fans around the world held vigils in his memory, including a shrine to the late star in his hometown of Wolverhampton.

He died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage”, a post-mortem examination report said.

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.

Payne later went on to launch 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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