Liam Payne’s family make heartwarming gesture in his memory after funeral-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

Liam Payne’s family have made a touching gesture following his death (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/ Getty Images)

A fund set up in Liam Payne’s name will help build a new Cancer Centre for children at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The One Direction singer was laid to rest today after he died aged 31 on October 16 after falling from a balcony in Argentina.

The funeral saw his family and close friends attend, including former bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan, as well as his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and Cheryl, the mother of his son Bear.

Photos from outside the service also showed his devastated parents Geoff and Karen Payne watch on as his coffin arrived at the church, decorated with a mound of white roses.

The dark blue coffin was transported in a white horse-drawn carriage, with flower tributes reading ‘Son’ and ‘Daddy’ placed on top.

It’s now been revealed his family made a touching tribute to Payne, with the order of service stating donations made to the charity in his name would help sick children battling cancer.

His funeral service booklet encouraged attendees to donate to a fund set up in his name for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (Picture: Tony Kershaw/ SWNS)

‘Thank you for your donation to Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity in memory of our friend Liam Payne,’ it read.

‘Your donation today will continue Liam’s legacy by helping to build a brand new Children’s Cancer Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

‘This incredible new building will help give seriously ill children childhoods that are fuller, funner and longer.’

This comes after it was revealed last month Payne spent his final days supporting sick children.

Floral tributes to Payne at a memorial in West Park in his hometown of Wolverhampton (Picture: Jacob King/ PA Wire)

The singer died after falling from a balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires last month (Picture: Jacob King/ PA Wire)

In a series of Snapchat videos, a site he was posting on just hours before his death, the performer spoke about wanting to help in any way he could.

‘I’ve always felt really lucky to be in the position that I’m in and my life aspiration has been to be a superhero… but I can’t fly, I’m not a great mechanic, I wasn’t affected by radiation, and I’m not incredibly strong,’ he began.

‘All I know is there are websites out there for you to be able to donate to sick children that need your help.’

He then encouraged his followers to also help if they could too, sharing: ‘It doesn’t matter how small the donation is, or how big the donation is.

In the days before his death Payne was donating to multiple GoFundMe pages (Picture:
Getty)

‘All that matters is you look into that child’s eyes and you realise… as a father, it hits me slightly differently because I look at them and if that was my child, I would want everyone in the world to just look at me. Please, look at me and help me.

‘The last few nights, I’ve been spending some time on GoFundMe, a fantastic website. I’m not sure about the tip thing, though, guys, you need to work that out, because that’s not right; we should be giving the tips to the kids, man.’

Payne went on to share he was ‘trying to finish off people’s donations so that they can get the operations they need’.

He added: ‘It’s despicable that, in 2024, these kids are having to pay for these medical things that would be free in my country.’

Liam pictured with his parents in 2010 (Picture: Express & Star/ SWNS)

Some of those he helped included four-year-old Macy Shepard, who was diagnosed with a tumour on her kidney.

Following his death last month, Payne’s family shared a statement saying they were ‘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.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More