Liam Payne and his One Direction bandmates chatted with the royal couple for the Royal Variety Performance in 2014… and the late star, who was only 21 at the time, later made a surprising admission

Princess Catherine chats with Liam Payne (centre) and Louis Tomlinson in 2014 (Image: Screengrab)

The music world has been rocked by the death of Liam Payne after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. The 31-year-old packed a lot into his life and leaves behind a son, Bear.

In 2014 when he was still only 21 he was already a global superstar after One Direction became the first ever band to have their first four albums to go to number one in the Billboard Charts in the USA.

However, when Payne and his bandmates met Prince William and Princess Catherine at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium on November 13 that year, he reacted in the same way as any other young Briton.

Despite being boyband royalty, Wolverhampton-born Payne admitted that he was incredibly nervous to meet members of the real Royal Family, saying: “It’s the most nervous I think I’ve ever been in my life.”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – as the Prince and Princess of Wales were known back then – shook hands with Liam first, then Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles.

According to the Mirror, William told the lads he had been “keeping a close eye” on them and they chatted about One Direction’s forthcoming world tour, On The Road Again.

Tomlinson, meanwhile, was worried that he made mistake when greeting the glamorous Kate Middleton, who looked stunning in a Diane von Furstenberg gown. “I didn’t say ma’am. I said – Hi. How are you? I’m Louis,” he recalled.

Video footage from the event shows Kate chatting with Liam and Louis, who are both smiling broadly. She then appears to say “wait and see” before adding “good luck tonight”, as Louis replies “thank you very much”.

The Royal Variety Performance is an annual tradition in the UK, with an evening of comedy, music, dance, magic and other speciality acts from a theatre in London. It is televised across the nation and raises money for the Royal Variety Charity.

One Direction played three Royal Variety Performance three times – in 2012, 2014 and 2015. For the first show, at the Royal Albert Hall, they had Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip looking on from the royal box.

One Direction (L-R) Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles attend The Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium (Image: Getty)
It was a fantastically star-studded evening, compered by David Walliams and featuring Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Bruce Forsyth, Girls Aloud, Katherine Jenkins, Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, Bill Bailey, Des O’Connor, Ronnie Corbett, Alicia Keys, Nicola Benedetti, Ashleigh and Pudsey and a Best of Britain’s Got Talent ensemble with Diversity, Spelbound, Stavros Flatley and Paul Potts!

Two years later, One Direction were joined by all-star acts including Bette Midler, Dame Shirley Bassey, Ellie Goulding, Simply Red, Ed Sheeran, Sarah Millican, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the cast of Miss Saigon.

In 2015, when Prince Harry was the Royal Family member in attendance, the Royal Variety Performance featured Elton John, Cirque Du Soleil, Brandon Flowers, Kylie Minogue, Little Mix, the cast of Mary Poppins, Ricky Martin and Romesh Ranganathan.