Liam Payne's funeral taking place today as former bandmates set to be among attendees

The 31-year-old Wolverhampton-born singer will be laid to rest in a private funeral, with a special guestlist of people invited to pay their last respects. The service is taking place at a church in the Home Counties.

The One Direction star died after falling from the third floor balcony of his hotel room in Argentina last month and his body was allowed to be flown home by his family after being given the ok by officials in Buenos Aires.

The star's father Geoff was also on the flight back into the UK along with the singer's body.

Among those believed to be attending the funeral, according to the Daily Mirror, are the One Direction bandmates, including Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, while his girlfriend Kate Cassidy is also expected to attend along with Simon Cowell.

Fans from across the globe have continued to hold vigils in memory of Payne following his death including in Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

Last week, it was announced that three people have been charged in connection with Liam's death in Argentina. 

According to a translation of the statement issued by the public prosecutor’s office in Argentina, prosecutors said "exhaustive and meticulous measures were taken to clarify the circumstances" around the 31-year-old dad-of-one's death.

The statement said: "Based on the evidence gathered and after analysing the various bodies of proceedings and numerous documentary annexes and the background of the case, prosecutor Andres Esteban Madrea formally charged three people, requesting their questioning and arrest in a 180-page ruling presented last Friday to Judge Bruniard."

Prosecutors said one of the individuals was accompanying the singer on a daily basis in Argentina and stands accused of abandonment of a person followed by death, which could carry a sentence of up to 15 years. 

Another was an employee at the hotel where Payne was staying. 

The third person allegedly supplied drugs.

Payne rose to fame alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan when Simon Cowell put them together to form One Direction on ITV talent show The X Factor in 2010.

He had first auditioned in 2008 when he was 14, singing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, with judge Cowell telling him to return to the talent show two years later.

In 2010 he impressed the judges with a rendition of Michael Buble’s version of Cry Me A River before being put with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage of the competition – the group which later became One Direction.

Payne, who was born in Wolverhampton, went on to launch a successful solo career, releasing his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019, which included the songs Polaroid and Strip That Down featuring Quavo.

One of his most well-known songs, For You, was a collaboration between him and singer Rita Ora for the film Fifty Shades Freed.

He and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, who were in a relationship between 2016 and 2018, share a son, Bear.