Pallbearers carry the coffin of Liam Payne into his funeral.
Credit...Justin Tallis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Liam Payne’s Former One Direction Bandmates Attend His Funeral in England

The One Direction singer died at 31 last month after a fall from a balcony.

by · NY Times

A funeral was held for the former One Direction singer Liam Payne in England on Wednesday afternoon, a month after his death in a fall from a hotel balcony.

The private service at a church in Amersham, England, about 25 miles northwest of London, was attended by Mr. Payne’s former bandmates in One Direction, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.

Simon Cowell, James Corden and the model Damian Hurley also attended, photos showed, as well as several members of the girl group Girls Aloud, including Cheryl, Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts. Cheryl is the mother of Mr. Payne’s 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne. Mr. Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, was also at the service.

Mr. Payne’s coffin arrived in a carriage drawn by two white horses. It was lifted by pallbearers and carried into the church.

Mr. Payne died at 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires on Oct. 16.

Prosecutors said that a toxicology report showed that Mr. Payne had cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant in his system. The local prosecutor’s office said it had accused three people of crimes after his death, though it did not name them. Two of them, including a hotel employee, were accused of supplying narcotics, and the third, who was described as being with Mr. Payne daily during his trip to Argentina, was accused of abandonment of a person followed by death.

One Direction was assembled on the British talent show “The X Factor” in 2010 when the members were teenagers. They went on to international success with hits like “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Live While We’re Young” and “Story of My Life.” The band separated in 2016 and the members continued to record on their own.