When Queen frontman Freddie Mercury died, he left half of his estate – estimated to be worth around £20m to £30m at the time – to Mary Austin, his best friend and former fiancée. Now, Austin has finally spoken out about receiving millions from the rock star after his death and how the vast inheritance has actually “been really difficult” to manage over the years.
The now 80-year-old became engaged to Mercury in the 1970s, but the pair split when Mercury told her he was gay. They stayed friends, with Austin taking on the job as Mercury’s personal assistant, and the pair remained close until the Queen star’s death aged 45 from bronchial pneumonia related to his AIDS diagnosis in 1991.
In a new interview with The Guardian, Austin admitted that she initially refused to live in Mercury’s Kensington home, known as Garden Lodge, when he placed it in his will.
“I said, ‘I don’t want the house, I’ve worked hard for you to live in this.’ And he said, ‘If everything had gone to plan you would have been my wife, and this would have been rightly yours,’” she said, later saying of the inheritance: “Mostly, it’s been really difficult.”
She therefore moved into Garden Lodge, which forced Mercury’s partner Jim Hutton to move out. He was left £500,000 by Mercury and given three months to leave the property, despite claiming that Mercury had told him he could continue to live there.
Addressing the awkward situation, Austin said: “It had nothing to do with me. It was all down to the executors of the will.” She inherited 50 per cent of Mercury’s fortune and future royalties, and moved into Garden Lodge.
When asked whether Mercury left her the substantial sum out of love or as an apology, Austin said: “I don’t know. There’s more on that list than you realise, I’m afraid. Could be [guilt], but I think not. If you put your thinking cap on, you’ll get there.”
Austin also revealed that she has continued to keep the location of Mercury’s ashes a secret, as per his wishes. “I think if I was Freddie’s parents, Freddie’s sister, and I wasn’t allowed to know where his ashes have been scattered, I would be upset and offended, but that’s the job he asked me to do,” she continued. “And I did it. I kept saying to them, ‘I’m really, really sorry – I can’t tell you,’” adding that his mother did accept that.
Austin has lived in Mercury’s home since his death but recently placed it up for sale, asking for a £30m purchase price. She added that upon her death, the inherited funds will go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and her two sons, who knew nothing about her connection to Mercury, or that they had grown up in his home, until they were in their late twenties.
Last month, it was announced that a number of Mercury’s belongings, including a piano and microphone he used as well as early drafts of his songwriting, would be auctioned in October. The piano carries a pre-sale estimate of £200,000–£400,000, with the auction taking place on 1 and 2 October.
Meanwhile, a selection of his costumes will be on display at the V&A next month to mark what would have been his 80th birthday – with Austin helping to create the exhibition.
Read MoreFreddie Mercury’s iconic costumes to be displayed at new London exhibition
Reading Festival-goers leave thousands of tents and piles of rubbish behind
Penny Lancaster provides health update on husband Rod Stewart after heart operation
