Bella was a former St Margaret\u2019s College student and was in her fourth year studying law and psychology at the University of Canterbury.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her funeral will be held at St Andrew\u2019s College Centennial Chapel at 2pm Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo truly honour Bella and her love of an excuse to dress up and make any occasion special, we invite everyone to embrace the opportunity to come dressed for a black-tie event,\u201d the family\u2019s notice said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her mother Hayley Middleton previously\u00a0told the NZ Herald Berine was \u201ca truly beautiful loved daughter, sister, granddaughter and friend\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have Bella as a friend, you had her for life.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loved hard and was fiercely loyal. She will remain this way for eternity as we have her very much with us.<\/p>\n
\u201cA ridiculously huge amount of people are broken-hearted.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was so loved and so kind. And smart. Really, really smart.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/copy-of-middleton-774-jpg.webp\")
Bella Beirne. Photo: Supplied <\/p>\n
Bella was travelling the world\u00a0with her mum on the trip of a lifetime,\u00a0which saw her attend a Harry Styles concert in London as well as travel to Portugal,\u00a0Spain and France.<\/p>\n
\u201cCascais [in Portugal] was a day trip at the beach,\u201d\u00a0Middleton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBels loved the sunshine; tanning was her sport; she was a gold medallist at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bella\u2019s father, Simon Beirne, and her brother, Lachie, flew to France while she was still in hospital.<\/p>\n
Her body has now been brought home\u00a0to Christchurch.<\/p>\n
Simon was the founder and managing director of vehicle import business SBL.<\/p>\n
Before her daughter\u2019s death, Middleton posted to Instagram about how\u00a0Bella loved the illustrated book Belinda goes to Paris as a small child.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost count of how many times that book was chosen \u2026 dreaming of wandering the streets of Paris, visiting fountains and taking in the beautiful buildings, history and endless patisseries and side walk cafes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point during the countless number of times that story was shared, we pinky promised that when this teeny tiny baby girl was 21 we\u2019d go to Paris and sip champagne on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as you know, there\u2019s not much more sacred than a pinky promise.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo 21-year-old Bels and I are off to sip champagne! How bloody lucky are we!\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/copy-of-middleton-774e-jpg.webp\")
Bella Beirne with her father and brother, Simon and Lachie Beirne, and her mother, Hayley Middleton. Photo: Supplied <\/p>\n
Bella\u2019s death was a\u00a0 shock\u00a0for her wide circle of friends, many of whom have taken to social media to express their grief and condolences to the family.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeautiful Bella, an angel. Every thought has been with you all, sending you so much love and thoughts as you all make such a hard journey home,\u201d one of her\u00a0friends wrote.<\/p>\n
A social media post from Middleton last\u00a0Wednesday thanked Bella\u2019s friends for their recent messages of love and support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will read and love every single one of them. You and your messages mean the world to us. Especially now,\u201d Middleton wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are approximately an hour out of Nice. The sky is blue, the music is playing loud, and our tears continue to flow in disbelief as we bring our girl home.<\/p>\n
“She is so deep rooted in our hearts, comforting us whenever she can.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she\u2019s still having fun. Her latest trick was convincing Lach\u2019s he was locked in the bathroom on a plane.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s never far away, and I know she is very happy to have landed on the French Riviera.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s every bit as beautiful as our girl. Well almost.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel all of your love and support. Please bear with us as we figure out what to do with it.<\/p>\n
“We want the hugs and to share in your love and tears, yet we also want our solitude to grieve and feel our girl in our home and with space around us.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are all important to us, and we feel your pain as you try and imagine what it must be like for us right now. I can confirm it is the most harrowing, sad thing in the world and I pray over everyone that we know that you never experience it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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