Liam Payne’s One Direction bandmates emotional at London funeral

One Direction’s Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan attended former bandmate Liam Payne’s London-area funeral Wednesday alongside the late singer’s family, just over a month after his death.
Styles, 30, was reportedly visibly emotional as he entered the private service at St. Mary’s Church in Amersham, about 28 miles northwest of the British capital, TMZ reports. Reuters reported Tuesday that the singers were expected to attend the funeral alongside Payne’s loved ones.
A white horse-drawn hearse, carrying floral tributes that spelled out “son” and “daddy” transported the coffin to the church, according to TMZ and BBC. Cheryl Cole, mother to Payne’s 7-year-old son, Bear, was also in attendance with her Girls Aloud bandmates Kimberley Walsh and Nicole Roberts.
In addition to individually mourning Payne on their social media channels, his former bandmates released a joint statement on Oct. 17 saying they were “completely devastated” by his death the day prior.
“For now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. … We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam,” said the pop stars, who disbanded in 2016.
Simon Cowell — who helped put One Direction together when they appeared on “The X Factor” in 2010 — embraced Payne’s family at the funeral, which was also attended by James Corden and Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy.
The New Jersey native, 25, was in Argentina with 31-year-old Payne just days before his fatal fall from the third-story balcony of his room at Buenos Aires’ CasaSur Hotel on Oct. 16.
He sustained multiple traumatic injuries resulting in internal and external bleeding. Three people have been charged in connection with Payne’s death, particularly concerning the controlled substances found in his system, including benzodiazepine, crack cocaine and “pink cocaine” — traditionally a cocktail of methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA.