When Liam Payne met with the late Queen Elizabeth the interaction left him absolutely amazed by the former monarch – and he later spent hours creating an amazing tribute to her

Liam Payne’s highly successful music career gave him and his One Direction bandmates the opportunity to meet some of the most senior royals quite a few times.

The musician – who tragically died after falling from a hotel balcony on 16 October in Buenos Aires, Argentina – met Prince Harry, Prince William, Princess Kate, and the late Queen over the years – but one of the encounters left him absolutely amazed.

The late musician’s first royal encounter took place in 2014, at the Royal Variety Show, when he was introduced along with his bandmates to Prince William and Kate. At the time, Kate was pregnant with Princess Charlotte, and Liam’s bandmate Harry Styles offered his congratulations on their expanding family.

The next year, the entire band met Prince Harry the day their album Made in the AM was to be released, and Liam watched on seeming confident and totally at ease whilst the Duke of Sussex chatted with his bandmate Harry Styles, and the pair joked about the length of the popstar’s hair.

However, two years later, Liam met the late ever-popular Queen Elizabeth and seemed a little overawed by meeting the former monarch, for whom he clearly had a deep respect. The encounter happened at the 2017 Queen’s Young Leaders reception which took place in Buckingham Palace, and saw young leaders who have helped their communities tell their stories. Prince Harry was also in attendance again, but this occasion saw Liam attend without his bandmates, and from the social media post he made after the event – it’s clear the day and the late Queen left a big impression on the young musician.

“An absolute honour to meet the Queen today on such a fantastic occasion. Privileged to share the room with such inspirational @queensyoungleaders, hear their stories and how they are helping to rebuild and preserve a sometimes broken world,” Liam said in his post.

The following year, Liam met the nation’s longest reigning monarch again, at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey – and in both of their encounters the late Queen clearly made a massive impression, because after her death, Liam said he spent hours creating a stunning tribute to her.

As reported in The Independent, Liam posted a photograph of an incredible oil painting he had been working on of the late Queen in her younger years, just a couple of months after her death. “Unfinished oil canvas I painted of the Queen,” Payne captioned his post. “This is 4.5 feet tall and took about 50 hours… RIP HRH.”