| mickyparise 30.03.2013 21:23 |
In the days before his death, his once lithe body now rendered extremely frail by Aids, Freddie Mercury made one final request of the woman he described as ‘the love of my life’. That she, and she alone, should collect his ashes after his cremation and dispose of them at a private location never to be disclosed. For more than two decades Mary Austin has abided by Mercury’s wishes and kept the whereabouts of his ashes a secret. Not even his elderly parents were told. Since the death of Queen’s flamboyant frontman, aged 45, in November 1991, speculation has been rife. Were the ashes taken to his native Zanzibar? Or buried under a cherry tree in the Japanese garden of his London mansion? When a plinth erected at Kensal Green cemetery in West London bearing his real name – Farrokh Bulsara – was discovered earlier this month, his legion of fans hoped their hero’s final resting place had finally been located. But Mary, the woman who shared much of her life with the enigmatic showman, and to whom he left his magnificent £20?million Edwardian mansion in West London as well as the bulk of his £9?million fortune, is categoric on the matter: ‘Freddie is definitely not in that cemetery,’ she says. Mercury, famed as much for his excessive lifestyle as his exuberant stage persona, died from AIDS at a time when it was feared and misunderstood. Mary says that just before his death, he was terrified his resting place would be defiled: ‘He didn’t want anyone trying to dig him up as has happened to some famous people. Fans can be deeply obsessive. He wanted it to remain a secret and it will remain so.’ She kept the ashes in an urn in Freddie’s bedroom for two years and then staged an elaborate covert exercise, slipping out of the mansion alone to carry out his last request. Mary was left with Mercury's millions, but has also had to deal with his legions of jealous followers To avoid prying eyes, she didn’t even take her driver. ‘I didn’t want anyone to suspect that I was doing anything other than what I would normally do. I said I was going for a facial. I had to be convincing. It was very hard to find the moment. ‘One morning, I just sneaked out of the house with the urn. It had to be like a normal day so the staff wouldn’t suspect anything – because staff gossip. They just cannot resist it. But nobody will ever know where he is buried because that was his wish.’ A few days beforehand, Mary invited Mercury’s parents to the house to say a few prayers in his memory. But not even they were told where his ashes ultimately lie. It was an emotional and stress-filled mission for Mary, who lived with Mercury on and off for 20 years. The years since his death have been lonely. As we sit in the music room of the sprawling mansion, which still retains the stylish grandeur and flamboyant decor that Mercury demanded, the vigil by fans continues outside the property’s perimeter wall. For many of them it is a daily pilgrimage and they pause to pin up missives of undying love. Mary gazes through the window, smiling softly. Sinking into a plush sofa she then casts her eye around the room – taking in its stunning array of valuable antiques, art works and Louis XV furniture. ‘Why would I want to change it?’ she says. ‘It is his taste and style. It’s beautiful. His presence is everywhere.’ The grand piano – at which Mercury composed many of his greatest hits including Bohemian Rhapsody – dominates the room. On top, sit several silver-framed photographs of Mary and Mercury, in the first flush of romance, laughing lovingly together. After six years together, he came out as gay, taking a stream of lovers as his life descended into uninhibited promiscuity. But his love for Mary never waned. That he left the bulk of his fortune to her caused deep and bitter resentment – not least among Mercury’s former band members. She says he warned her the legacy she would inherit could become a burden. ‘And he was right,’ she says, her features, still elfin at 62, forming a deep frown. After Freddie died she felt out of her depth. She suffered several serious illnesses and struggled emotionally to cope with the inheritance. ‘I found myself thinking, “Oh Freddie, you’ve left me too much and too much to deal with as well.” I felt I couldn’t live up to it. He’d warned me that the house was going to be more of a challenge than I realised. I’m grateful he did because I hit jealousy head on – like a Japanese bullet train. Very painful. ‘I don’t think the remaining members of Queen have ever reconciled themselves to it. I don’t understand it. Because to me it’s bricks and mortar. I try never to be jealous or envy people. Mary was left a magnificent £20million Edwardian mansion in West London ‘Freddie was very generous to them in the last years of his life and I don’t think they embraced that generosity. I don’t think they appreciated or recognised what Freddie had left them. He left the band a quarter share of the last four albums – which he didn’t need to do. And I never hear from them. After Freddie died, they just wandered off.’ Everywhere, she confesses, there are memories of Mercury. ‘You hear a specific song and it makes you feel emotional. We lived those 20-odd years together. Under the same roof. Together emotionally.’ During that time she witnessed the thrill of Mercury proposing marriage, the heartache of losing him when he realised he was gay and the anguish of nursing him through his final days. There is one particularly powerful memory of that time that still haunts her. As his life ebbed away, Mercury watched DVD footage of his past performances. ‘On one occasion he turned to me and said sadly, “To think I used to be so handsome.” I got up and had to leave the room,’ she recalls. ‘It was too upsetting. We were never allowed to get emotional around him and that was hard. But I knew if I sat there I would have been in tears. When I returned I just sat down as if nothing had happened. But for that moment, he caught me off guard.’ Mary was 19 when she first met Mercury in the early Seventies. Born into an impoverished family in Battersea, South London – her father worked as a trimmer for wallpaper specialists and her mother was a domestic for a small company – her childhood wasn’t easy. Both parents were deaf and communicated through sign language and lip-reading. Mary was a PR at the fashionable Biba store in Kensington, West London, when she encountered Mercury, then 24, at the clothes stall he and Queen drummer Roger Taylor ran in nearby Kensington market. Initially, she found Mercury intimidating but was also fascinated by this ‘wild-looking artistic musician’. She says: ‘He was like no one I had met before. He was very confident – something I have never been. We grew together. I liked him and it went on from there.’ The pair shared a bedsit and then moved into a modest one-bedroom flat in nearby Holland Road. They were blissfully happy but hadn’t discussed a future together. ‘Then, when I was 23 he gave me a big box on Christmas Day. Inside was another box, then another and so it went on. It was like one of his playful games. Eventually, I found a lovely jade ring inside the last small box. ‘I looked at it and was speechless. I remember thinking, “I don’t understand what’s going on.” It wasn’t what I’d expected at all. So I asked him, “Which hand should I put this on?” And he said, “Ring finger, left hand.” And then he said, “Because, will you marry me?” I was shocked. It just so wasn’t what I was expecting. I just whispered, “Yes. I will.” But, impulsive as ever, he changed his mind on a whim. ‘Sometime later,’ she says. ‘I spotted a wonderful antique wedding dress in a small shop. And as Freddie hadn’t said anything more about marrying, the only way that I could test the water was to say, “Is it time I bought the dress?” But he said no. He had gone off the idea and it never happened. ‘I was disappointed but I had a feeling it wasn’t going |
| Missreclusive 30.03.2013 22:30 |
Curious, where did this article/interview come from? Appears recent due to references to Kensington cemetary. |
| GratefulFan 30.03.2013 22:44 |
Daily Mail: link Also appears to be a bit cracked in spots? Hopefully? It has that feel of copious journalistic license. |
| Missreclusive 30.03.2013 23:15 |
The basic story is from a past interview with interjections of new. Interesting and I'm sure after the incident with the plaque in the cemetary..the press has hounded Mary for a word. |
| The Real Wizard 31.03.2013 00:22 |
Classy, honest, and remained true to her word unlike certain others. Total respect to her. |
| ITWEMBLEY86 31.03.2013 04:59 |
nice read for the most part, sad , but nice. |
| brENsKi 31.03.2013 06:35 |
yes, a very poignant article. but also a little flawed - unless someone can tell me how Freddie "watched dvd footage of his last performances" did he reincarnate in 1995? - because it wasn't til then that the DVD format was invented |
| A Word In Your Ear 31.03.2013 07:37 |
mickyparise wrote: When a plinth erected at Kensal Green cemetery in West London bearing his real name – Farrokh Bulsara – was discovered earlier this month, his legion of fans hoped their hero’s final resting place had finally been located. =================================================================================== What I find amazing about the newspaper that reported about finding Freddie's last resting place this month (March 2013) as if it was big news, was the fact that the news was reported here on Queenzone back in 5th October last year (2012) by Queenzoner "CM"Thread:- link with a link to youtube footage:- link it seems the newspaper reports old news, Just a shame that "Mary?" or "Whoever" had to take the dedication plaque down. Again those blood thirsty tabloids spoil everything!!! |
| dowens 31.03.2013 07:49 |
Is there really problems between Mary and the band members? I just find it a shame that there's not a proper place to pay respects to Freddie. I guess Garden Lodge will have to do. |
| TheWorks84 31.03.2013 07:56 |
did he reincarnate in 1995? - because it wasn't til then that the DVD format was invented I was thinking the same thing. |
| DLCVinnuendo 31.03.2013 08:32 |
the press, the fucking press... |
| LCSeixas 31.03.2013 08:38 |
If it's true, Mary is simply amazing. She took a huge burden with her, for love. I hope they can manage to find a good actress to play her in the biopic, either it's Katy Perry or that chick from Gossip Girl. BTW, some good three years ago I found this link and was mesmerized. Whaddja think of this, other than being disrespectful? |
| una999 31.03.2013 08:41 |
How accurate is this article? I don't know, but it seems a bit ridiculous, some parts more than others. Wonder why she had a falling out with jim hutton, peter freestone, remaining queen band members...begin to wonder who has the problem if all these articles are true, then the press twists things, but David Wigg?? |
| brENsKi 31.03.2013 09:48 |
LCSeixas wrote: If it's true, Mary is simply amazing. She took a huge burden with her, for love.not going to apologise for "banging this drum" again but no she isn't amazing - she's just a normal, loyal, loving person doing what normal, loyal, loving people do EVERY day for the people they love. her loyal behaviour is more of an damning indictment of the leeching, scurrilous, hangers-on that purported to love freddie, when in reality just grabbed and grabbed and soul their souls for pieces of silver |
| OhioBobcat555 31.03.2013 11:05 |
No DVDs? Sure there were. Okay not quite. She is quite certainly referring to LaserDisk or something of the like... which as has been around much, much longer than DVDs. Of course those are now all but defunct but this would make sense. Freddie would have been able to have easily afforded and been privy to such technology since it's advent and certainly since the late 80s when he got sick. |
| brENsKi 31.03.2013 11:43 |
dowens wrote: I just find it a shame that there's not a proper place to pay respects to Freddie. I guess Garden Lodge will have to do.i find it intrusive and disrespectful for people to think Garden Lodge is considered by some as a shrine for heaven's sake - it's Mary's house - and has been for 20+ years. it's time the "respect visits" to Garden Lodge ceased how would YOU like it if a continual procession of people kept hanging/lurking around YOUR house because they wanted to pay respects to the PREVIOUS owner? |
| Benn 31.03.2013 12:06 |
Who the fuck is Mary Austin to say who should or shouldn't be entitled to a quarter shar of anything? Yeah - I bet she found it REALLY tough to inherit a palatial home and enough cash to never have to worry again. Why would Brian, Roger or John want any contact with her - she was Freddie's friend - nothing more, nothing less. She had no connection to the band other than that - unless Roger slotted her in the early days (which I wouldn't rule out, knowing his attraction to the blonde element!) |
| VfLDOTL 31.03.2013 12:27 |
‘One morning, I just sneaked out of the house with the urn. It had to be like a normal day so the staff wouldn’t suspect anything – because staff gossip. They just cannot resist it. But nobody will ever know where he is buried because that was his wish.’ Well that just mean to me, that he is somwhere around London... |
| Day dop 31.03.2013 12:31 |
The ones who were after the free tickets, the free booze, the free drugs, the free meal, the gossip and, of course, the expensive gifts were the ones who nursed him till the end, weren't they? |
| deleted user 31.03.2013 12:51 |
This seems like a rehash from old interviews. But what does sound totally absurd to me, and does not ring true at all is why Brian, Roger, or John would care about who Freddie left his house to. I am quite sure they have more than enough in terms of homes, money, etc., and in any case they would not want or expect Freddie's house. That part of the interview just does not ring true. I think it would have been a truly beautiful gesture on Mary's part to let Freddie's mum know her son's final resting place. It must have been so difficult for Jer Bulsara to cope with her son's suffering, illness and death. |
| dowens 31.03.2013 13:24 |
I think I'd understand the fans coming to the home, since it was GIVEN to me. Sure it's get annoying, but she could move elsewhere. I would love to visit someday. |
| pma 31.03.2013 14:42 |
As many others had already pointed, I keep finding amusement in the thought of Freddie, in his death bed, looking at DVD's of his performances, with Mary by his bedside. Some really do get started early with the April Fool's crap. |
| cmsdrums 31.03.2013 15:17 |
I like the bit where she is quoted as saying she tries not to be envious or jealous of people; quite easy really when you inherit what she did I'd say!! And the bit about the last four albums being shared equally: yes, The Miracle and Innuendo shared credits so they would split the songwriting royalties, but that want the case with A Kind of Magic or The Works, and Freddie would have had no say in Made In Heaven, so that rules that out? Even if he decreed that GH II should share his own royalties between the others in his songs, that only makes three albums, not four. Sad to see any quotes attributing jealousy to the other three guys - I really can't see that. And to moan that none of them see her anymore is a bit rich when even Bri and Roger don't see John!!! I don't stay in touch with my friends friends and I don't see why they should either. Good point made by the way about deducing that Freddie is buried (which the article states, and not scattered) somewhere within a fairly short distance of garden lodge so as to make it look as if Mary had just 'popped out' for a while. |
| splicksplack 31.03.2013 16:28 |
For fucks sake people, it's the Daily Mail. A Tory arse-wipe for busybodies with nothing better to do than nose in on what other people (with lives) get up to. Who gives a shit about Mary fag-hag Austin? |
| VfLDOTL 31.03.2013 17:17 |
Well, then Kensal Green, Brompton Cementery and his favourite tree are the most likely places... |
| mickyparise 31.03.2013 19:24 |
Sorry for not including the link....when I posted it, the article looked correct in full with the link. Oh well..... |
| john bodega 31.03.2013 20:36 |
I wish I'd been cursed by millions of dollars. |
| BelfastQueenFan 31.03.2013 21:04 |
Yes I agree. I mean look, respect Mary and stuff, but its a bit galling tbh to say you were "cursed" with a life in the literal lap of luxury. She lived and lives like a bloody queen. The monarchical kind. If she fee,s cursed by living in a palace in the prime of London filled with "antiques and Louis XI furniture" , ill gladly swap with her. |
| Queen fan 01.04.2013 11:59 |
LCSeixas wrote: If it's true, Mary is simply amazing. She took a huge burden with her, for love. I hope they can manage to find a good actress to play her in the biopic, either it's Katy Perry or that chick from Gossip Girl. BTW, some good three years ago I found this link and was mesmerized. Whaddja think of this, other than being disrespectful?link |
| Queen fan 01.04.2013 12:03 |
BelfastQueenFan wrote: Yes I agree. I mean look, respect Mary and stuff, but its a bit galling tbh to say you were "cursed" with a life in the literal lap of luxury. She lived and lives like a bloody queen. The monarchical kind. If she fee,s cursed by living in a palace in the prime of London filled with "antiques and Louis XI furniture" , ill gladly swap with her.Freddie died. |
| Queen fan 01.04.2013 12:05 |
splicksplack wrote: For fucks sake people, it's the Daily Mail. A Tory arse-wipe for busybodies with nothing better to do than nose in on what other people (with lives) get up to. Who gives a shit about Mary fag-hag Austin?You should be banned you think you are witty You not and same for the other losers who post things like that for their gang appreciation. |
| notimeforlosers 01.04.2013 15:31 |
Did someone understand any of the 'Queen fan' replies? I didn't. |
| brENsKi 01.04.2013 16:02 |
BelfastQueenFan wrote: Yes I agree. I mean look, respect Mary and stuff, but its a bit galling tbh to say you were "cursed" with a life in the literal lap of luxury. She lived and lives like a bloody queen. The monarchical kind. If she fee,s cursed by living in a palace in the prime of London filled with "antiques and Louis XI furniture" , ill gladly swap with her.show me where she [Mary] is quoted as saying she was cursed. those are the daily fucking mail's words - not hers she does say "freddie said it'd be a burden and he was right" but NOWHERE is she quoted as saying it was cursed one more thing - "burden" is the right word. because 9as someone who carried out his dad's and brother's final wishes i can confirm that while it's an honour and a privilege - it can also be a huge burden - esp when you have to try and keep the peace left right and centre with those left behind gotta love the way people round here continually bad-mouth the ONE person Freddie really loved and trusted - and defend the fucking leeching hangers on who took every gift he gave them and then sold out their souls for more cash - cunts |
| tcc 01.04.2013 17:01 |
Owning a big house is a burden if you do not have sufficiently large regular income to maintain it. She can't rent it out or sell it for a profit. It could be a case of asset rich cash poor situation as time goes on. |
| deleted user 01.04.2013 20:13 |
I think the question is why would Mary feel bad about the band? This article reads a little wacky as has been stated for this and other parts of it.. Maybe Wigg needed money and talked to Mary, gussed up her words,, then sold the article. Very tabloidy. |
| john bodega 02.04.2013 13:05 |
"It could be a case of asset rich cash poor situation as time goes on" There are no problems, only solutions. She could do MILF porn for six months and never have to worry about money again. |
| Day dop 02.04.2013 15:18 |
Zebonka12 wrote: "It could be a case of asset rich cash poor situation as time goes on" There are no problems, only solutions. She could do MILF porn for six months and never have to worry about money again. Sounds good to me! |
| Costa86 03.04.2013 07:55 |
The way I see it is that Mary and Queen's remaining members basically had/have quite different viewpoints. They probably do not think very highly of each other. However, I can't quite recall any instance when Brian or Roger went off bad-mouthing Mary. Mary, on the other hand, has criticised them. Added to this is Jim Hutton's kicking out from Garden Lodge. I think Mary is a person who loved Freddie very much. But, in truth, she can be rather difficult to deal with. She has been married and divorced twice. This doesn't necessarily mean anything, but it may actually do. I do agree with Mr Zebonka though. Inheriting millions is an awful burden. |
| The Fairy King 03.04.2013 13:58 |
Please, share more insightful and accurate information about people you don't know or have met. |
| debbie1966 04.04.2013 07:56 |
Obviously Freddie new who he could trust to carry out his wishes. Mary is a true and loyal friend, you have to respect her for that. We must also remember that band members are work colleagues. Not everyone is besties with their colleagues, let alone their spouses/friends. |
| debbie1966 04.04.2013 08:03 |
I also think that Mary has remained tight lipped for so long, that the press has probably invented half of the story! |
| deleted user 04.04.2013 08:40 |
Well, the press is David Wigg, usually reliable. But the details are flakey. We know she doesn't need money, but maybe he does, and perhaps he was paid well for the story.. The real mystery is the urn and plaque. Where are they and why would Wigg mention the urn so liberally in this story? Could it somehow be connected to the movie? Publicity and focus on the biopic? Without a doubt, the fault of this story is the author, and none of characters mentioned. |
| jpf 08.04.2013 03:17 |
Zebonka12 wrote: "It could be a case of asset rich cash poor situation as time goes on" There are no problems, only solutions. She could do MILF porn for six months and never have to worry about money again.She'd have to bleach those yellow smoker's teeth first. I think she'd make more money in the FHILF industry. |