Liam Payne’s family members gathered at his funeral to say goodbye following his death at age 31.
The singer’s parents Karen and Geoff Payne were photographed holding back tears as Payne’s coffin was being brought into his private funeral held on Wednesday, November 20 in Amersham, England.
They were only two of the attendees at the somber event that took place more than one month after Payne’s death. His former One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were also photographed at the funeral along with Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy.
Us Weekly previously confirmed that Payne died on October 16 after a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is survived by parents Geoff and Karen Payne, older sisters Nicola and Ruth and his 7-year-old son, Bear, whom he shared with ex Cheryl Cole.
Shortly after news broke of Liam’s death, his family released a statement to the BBC: “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul. We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”
Liam’s sister Ruth subsequently shared a lengthy tribute via Instagram on October 19.
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“I don’t believe this is happening,” she wrote at the time. “Many times have I poured my heart out publicly with pride about Liam but never much about life as his sister. Liam is my best friend, no one could ever make me laugh as much as him, doing his impressions always had me creasing and he loved seeing how much of a laugh he could get.”
She continued: “Liam knew he could call me anytime, any day and I would pick up or that I would always fetch him if he needed to just come home. Our calls would often result in my laughing at his ideas and next adventure, talking through his plans and working through his issues but it would always end with ‘love you miss you’ ‘love you ru.’”
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Ruth acknowledged that her mind was “struggling to catch up with what’s happening and I don’t understand where you’ve gone.”
She concluded her note by speaking directly to her late brother. “Thank you for changing my life, thank you for the incredible memories, thank you for being the best brother and friend I’ll ever have!” Ruth wrote. “We’ll take care of Bear and he will always know how incredible his dad is and how much you idolize him. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. Love you, oh how my heart misses you. One last time I need you to know, I’m here if you need anything. I’d drive to the end of the universe to bring you back.”
Nicola later shared a statement of her own via Instagram on October 21.
“When I saw the news pop up on my phone that you had left us I went cold, I wanted so much for this to be untrue,” she wrote. “I have spent days hoping that it was a mistake and somebody has got it wrong. You were truly too good for this earth, you are an angel who just lived for making people smile and happy. You have always shown kindness to everyone you met and it shows with just how many people have confirmed what we always knew!”
Nicola mentioned that Liam’s family members were his “biggest fans,” adding, “Your talent alone puts you miles ahead, but also you being you.”
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She continued: “Unfortunately this cruel world is always [too] quick to judge someone from a few five second clips, they then think it entitles them to be able to speak like they know you. We knew you and we loved you.”
Nicola hoped that Liam “finally found peace up there and that you’ll continue to look after us all as well as you have done in life” and also promised to “make sure Bear knows about his daddy and how much you loved him.”
As for Liam’s father, Geoff, he traveled to Buenos Aires after his son’s death. Geoff was spotted looking at the tributes left by fans outside of the hotel where Liam died. The Argentine Prosecutor’s Office subsequently confirmed to Us that Geoff had spoken to the case’s prosecutor, Dr. Andres Esteban Madrea, about “his desire to investigate and to know what happened” to his son as well as his willingness to aid in the investigation.
