LONDON — The former members of One Direction gathered Wednesday for the funeral of bandmate Liam Payne.
Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson joined friends and family at the service for Payne, 31, who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last month.
A horse-drawn carriage carried the coffin to St Mary’s Church in Amersham, 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of London. Undertakers carried the dark blue coffin with silver handles, topped with white roses, to the 800-year-old church for the private service.
The location of the funeral was not made public beforehand to avoid a large crowd, although dozens of locals and fans still gathered nearby.
“Growing up, I was a big One Direction fan, so it almost felt like a little part of the child in me was gone,” said Tara Lloyd, 20, who works at nearby Amersham Hospital.
The crowd fell silent as Payne’s parents, Geoff and Karen, emerged from a car to stand next to the carriage, which was adorned with floral tributes reading “Son” and “Dad.”
Payne had a 7-year-old son, Bear, with singer Cheryl Tweedy.
Among the mourners were Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy, actor and presenter James Corden, former footballer Robbie Keane and music mogul Simon Cowell, who formed One Direction.
After the service, Cowell hugged Payne’s parents outside the church, before the late singer’s coffin was carried away in a black hearse.
One Direction formed in 2010 after the five teens auditioned for “The X-Factor” as solo acts and were brought together by Cowell, a judge on the show.
With their loyal fan base, the “Directioners” became one of the most successful boy bands of all time.
After the group broke up in 2016, Payne embarked on a solo career that failed to match the success of One Direction.
He was also open about his psychological problems and alcohol addiction 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 the Argentine capital on October 16.
They have charged three people with his death, with “abandonment of person followed by death” and “supply and facilitation of the use of narcotics.”
