They gathered in a circular marquee in the back garden of Liam Payne‘s mansion in Buckinghamshire.

Here, on Wednesday, after what was described by one guest as ‘the most emotional funeral you can imagine’, ex-partner Cheryl Tweedy welcomed friends and loved ones of the tragic singer, who raised a glass to him and hugged each other as they mourned.

The location was poignant, for it was here, say friends, on the outskirts of the pretty village of Chalfont St Giles, that Liam was at his happiest. It was where he spent time with his beloved son Bear, now seven, often with Bear’s mum Cheryl in tow.

Friends say father and son bonded over a pair of life-sized dinosaurs – one grey and the other green –which Liam bought online a decade ago, perhaps a little drunk, as an amusing present to himself. After relocating from Surrey a few years ago, the dinosaurs came with him and were given pride of place in the grounds of his house. They were there at the post-funeral get-together on Wednesday, too.

‘Liam loved his garden,’ says a friend of the star. ‘The dinosaurs brought out his inner child and made him happy when things around him were not going so well. And then there was Bear – what little boy wouldn’t want to play with them? It was a place of fond memories, so to remember Liam there was special.’

The location also gives a clue to the role that Cheryl, the 41-year-old singer from pop band Girls Aloud, had in arranging the day.

Ex-partner Cheryl Tweedy at Liam Payne’s funeral on Wednesday where she welcomed friends and loved ones of the tragic singer, who raised a glass to him

Former bandmates Harry Styles and Niall Horan. Harry was the first of the One Direction stars to arrive at the funeral

Bandmate Zayn Malik arrives at the funeral. He was seen outside the church before leaving alone shortly afterwards

Over the past five weeks, she has been a huge support to Liam’s parents, Geoff and Karen, and sisters, Nicola and Ruth, as they have started to come to terms with the devastating loss of Liam, who fell from a third floor balcony in a Buenos Aires hotel last month.

No doubt the funeral was one of the toughest days they will ever have to endure. And it was Cheryl, I’m told, who played a key part in bringing everyone together in this personal and meaningful place after the service at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.

Kate Cassidy, Liam’s girlfriend whom he’d been dating since October 2022, was also thought to be at the wake. Earlier, the American influencer arrived at the funeral with Damian Hurley, the model son of actress Elizabeth Hurley. The pair have apparently formed a strong bond after becoming friends over social media.

It’s thought this was the first time Kate had met Liam’s parents – though the meeting would surely have been imminent had he lived.

Following his death, Kate revealed they had plans to marry. She told her social media followers he had written her a note setting out a future together: ‘Me and Kate to marry within a year/engaged and together forever 444.’ (444 is considered an angel number – a sign the angels are with you – in numerology.)

The full list of those attending the wake is not definitively known – but there were undoubtedly a number of the ‘great and good’ of the music industry, as well as some of Liam’s One Direction bandmates.

Many such gatherings are notable for their rifts and cliques, of course, and it seems possible that the split dividing One Direction, 14 years after they were put together on X Factor, may not yet be healed.

When Harry Styles‘s black limousine arrived at the church (in typical sensible Harry style, he was the first to get there), onlookers expected to see the other members of One Direction climb out alongside him.

After all, in their heyday they would refer to one another as ‘brothers’. Only those five boys could ever comprehend the magnitude of their overnight fame and how it upended their lives entirely.

However, Harry wasn’t with his bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik or Louis Tomlinson. Instead he was flanked by actor turned chat show host James Corden and their television producer friend Ben Winston.

The trio are very close. Harry lived in Winston’s loft while his house in Hampstead was being renovated in 2013, spending a significant amount of their free time with Corden.

Arriving at Liam’s funeral separately was an illustration of just how far apart the bandmates have grown since their reign as the world’s most successful boyband, when they presented themselves very much as ‘besties’.

After Harry, Niall was the next to arrive with his girlfriend Amelia Woolley, then Zayn and then Louis. Outside the church, only Zayn and Louis were seen sharing a moment together before Zayn left alone shortly afterwards.

‘Of course, they all wanted to be there, they shared so much with Liam,’ said one insider. ‘But that doesn’t mean they are best friends any more. They haven’t worked together for almost ten years – they have grown apart.

Liam pictured with his beloved son Bear, now seven

Bandmate Louis Tomlinson was said to be especially close to Liam as he has had his own troubles in recent years

Liam’s friends and family gathered in a circular marquee in the back garden of his mansion in Buckinghamshire for his funeral

‘In fact, the last time they all met up, it was because Simon Cowell insisted they did after Louis’s mum died, and that was eight years ago.

‘But it was just so telling to see Harry arrive with his super-famous friend James rather than the other band members. It kind of told you what you needed to know about how the boys have drifted apart.’

I’m told there is very little contact between Harry and the others, and that it’s a similar story for Niall, though he was the last of the band members to see Liam before he died.

Indeed, Liam was in Buenos Aires to see the Irish heart-throb in concert, and afterwards had what I’m told was a ‘quick and fleeting’ meeting with him.

It is surely agonising to all involved that one of the first times the band had reunited in years was in the hours after Liam died on October 16 – to agree on the most poignant words to pay tribute to him.

In a statement signed ‘Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry’, they wrote: ‘We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing.

‘In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But 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 for ever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.’

To the outside world, it appeared little had changed since their days travelling the globe as the biggest boyband since the Beatles.

In fact, those closest to Liam at the end were Louis and Zayn, who have both had their own troubles in recent years.

Louis struggled following the deaths of his mother Johannah Deakin in 2016, and his little sister Felicite – who accidentally overdosed on cocaine, an anxiety drug and painkillers aged just 18 – four years later. Meanwhile, Zayn was reportedly axed by his record label RCA due to his alleged cannabis use in 2021.

Floral tributes for the former One Direction star were seen outside St Mary’s Church on the day of his funeral earlier this week

Simon Cowell attended with his partner Lauren Silverman. He was seen embracing Liam’s dad Geoff, but wasn’t seen publicly with any of One Direction and it is not known whether he attended the wake

Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts was also at the funeral

‘Louis and Zayn were such a support to Liam in the last few years,’ said a source. ‘They are distraught.’

Liam’s funeral was undoubtedly star-studded, with a strong X Factor theme. Its creator Simon Cowell attended with his partner Lauren Silverman. He was seen embracing Liam’s dad Geoff, but wasn’t seen publicly with any of One Direction and it is not known whether he attended the wake.

It also gave a potential insight into the fall out of another pop band – Girls Aloud. In attendance were Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, but notably absent was Nadine Coyle, despite the band reuniting earlier this year to pay tribute to their fifth band member Sarah Harding, who died of breast cancer in 2021. Throughout this year’s tour of the UK and Ireland, fans assumed that Cheryl and Nadine, who were at war for several years, had now made up.

Back in 2014, Nadine told how she was ‘blindsided’ by the decision to break up Girls Aloud and accused the others of ‘plotting’ behind her back.

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EXCLUSIVE

 Cheryl’s vow after Liam Payne’s funeral revealed – and how bandmates ‘wanted to be there for him’

She claimed that the rest of the band decided to call time on the group without consulting her, adding that she was told just minutes before going out on stage for the final performance of Ten: The Hits Tour. ‘I didn’t want the band to end, it was as simple as that,’ she said.

Cheryl hit back, saying that Nadine was ‘full of s***’ and accusing her of holding the band to ‘ransom.’

Meanwhile, Nicola and Kimberley have been the most loyal of friends to Cheryl for two decades, accompanying her to Thailand, for example, when her ex-husband Ashley Cole was caught cheating with a hairdresser named Aimee Walton back in 2008.

I’m told that Bear and Kimberley’s sons, aged seven, four and three, are very close, while Nicola is immensely fond of the little boy.

As for Cheryl, while she and Liam split up following months of rows back in 2018, his death will now always be part of her life.

When she found out she was pregnant with Bear, it was her dream come true, said friends of the star. She had long wanted to be a mother — a young one, in fact — and envisaged having several children with Ashley. Back in the mid-Noughties when Cheryl was in her early 20s, she would confide to me that she wanted to be a young mum and that she wanted ‘loads of kids’.

Now, though, it is just her and Bear. ‘Cheryl always dreamed of having the perfect family, but she has had to deal with the most awful tragedy head on,’ said one associate of the Geordie beauty.

‘But she’s tough and if anyone can get through this, she can.’