Before he came out, Freddie Mercury had a long-time partner called Mary Austin, who at one point he intended to marry. The former lovers remained close friends for the rest of the Queen singer’s short life before he tragically lost his battle with AIDS in 1991. Following his death, the 45-year-old star left 50 percent of his recording royalties and most of his wealth to her. The remainder went to his sister Kashmira and parents Bomi and Jer. After the deaths of his mother and father, Austin’s share of the estate increased to a whopping 75 percent. And now the 72-year-old is ready to “take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life” and sell most of his personal possessions at auction.
Freddie left Mary his Kensington mansion Garden Lodge and its contents and she’s auctioning an intimate collection of 1500 items that belonged to him. This includes handwritten lyrics and some of his most outrageous stage costumes. The never-before-seen contents of the Queen singer’s house are set to be revealed to the public for the first time in a month-long exhibition at Sotheby’s in London.
His former lover said: “For many years now, I have had the joy and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things that Freddie sought out and so loved. But the years have passed, and the time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life. It was important to me to do this in a way that I felt Freddie would have loved, and there was nothing he loved more than an auction. Freddie was an incredible and intelligent collector who showed us that there is beauty and fun and conversation to be found in everything; I hope this will be an opportunity to share all the many facets of Freddie, both public and private, and for the world to understand more about, and celebrate, his unique and beautiful spirit.”
Speaking with the BBC, Mary said of Freddie’s private collection: “You see the spectrum of his taste. It’s a very intelligent, sophisticated collection…I miss the fun, the humour, his warmth, his energy.” On his handwritten lyrics that she made the difficult decision to part with, she shared: “[They show] for me, [his] most beautiful side. You’re looking at the process of the artist, of work in progress. The crossings out, the rethinking, the reformatting.”
On why after three decades she’s now decided to sell everything but a few personal gifts, the 72-year-old added: “I need to put my affairs in order. The time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life. I decided that it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to keep things back. If I was going to sell, I had to be brave and sell the lot.”
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Highlights of Freddie’s precious items up for auction include his crown and cloak worn for God Save The Queen during his final set of concerts on The Magic Tour in 1986. These are estimated to go for £60,000-80,000. Plus his military jacket from his 39th Birthday Drag Ball is estimated at £10,000-15,000. Meanwhile, his hand-written manuscript working lyrics for We Are The Champions has an estimate of £200,000-300,000. Plus his unseen Killer Queen lyrics written in black Biro in 1974 are set to go for £50,000-70,000.
Among his personal possessions is Pablo Picasso’s portrait of his wife, which hung in Garden Lodge’s kitchen and is estimated at £50,000-70,000. And his favourite waistcoats featuring his cats, which he wore in his final music video These Are The Days Of Our Lives, is estimated at £5000-7000. The hand-painted silk panels have images of his mogs Delilah, Goliath, Oscar, Lily, Romeo and Miko.
The exhibition of Freddie’s personal items up for auction will open on August 4 at Sotheby’s and close on what would have been his 77th birthday on September 5. Prior to this, highlights from the collection will tour New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong in June. The six dedicated auctions will be led by a live Evening Sale on September 6 for the most significant items. Followed by items of Freddie “On Stage” on September 7 and the late star’s “At Home” possessions on September 8.
Alongside these will be three online auctions dedicated to the Queen singer’s love of Japan and the other two his “Crazy Little Things” which will present “an eclectic array of the curious and everyday objects that made Mercury smile”. A limited-edition Collection Book bringing to life the story of the star and the objects surrounding him will also be published around the auction. An estimated taking of £6 million is expected to be made at the auction, with some proceeds being donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the Elton John Aids Foundation.
