Liam Payne Once Said It Was ‘an Honour’ to Meet the Royals — and He Even Created a Painting of the Queen

People around the world are mourning the untimely death of Liam Payne, a former band member of British pop group One Direction, after he fell from his balcony at a hotel in Argentina. One Direction was formed by Simon Cowell back in 2010 after all of its members auditioned for The X Factor, a British singing competition.

During the height of their fame, the boys were able to meet the British royal family and Payne called it “an honour” to get to meet the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Liam Payne and One Direction once met the British royal family

At the height of their fame, One Direction was the biggest music group to come out of the UK since The Beatles. People would line up for hours just to catch a glimpse of the boys, and they were selling out shows all across the globe. It ultimately led the group to have the privilege of meeting the British royal family, which was a moment all of them were thankful for.

In November 2013, the boys had the chance to meet with members of the royal family at the Royal Variety Performance. They joked around with the royals, and Express reports that Prince Harry even made a joke to Harry Styles about whether he would soon cut his hair (Styles’ hair was past his shoulders at the time). But it was three years later when Payne had the chance to meet the queen, which he called an “honour.”

In 2017, Payne was invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace, where he met the late Queen Elizabeth II face to face. “An absolute honour to meet the Queen today on such a fantastic occasion,” Payne later said on social media of the experience.

To honor the queen after her death, Payne painted an oil painting of the late monarch, which he said took him 50 hours.

Many celebrities have paid tribute to Liam Payne after his death

A number of celebrities have taken to social media to speak about their personal friendships with Payne. Charlie Puth and Halsey shared their condolences, and Rita Ora had her fans help her through the performance of “For You” at her Japan concert — it was a song she’d previously recorded with Payne.

The One Direction members also paid their condolences to Payne’s family and shared their fondest memories of their bandmate. Payne leaves behind a son, Bear, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Cheryl, as well as his parents and two sisters.