When Freddie Mercury first met Mary Austin, he was 24 years old, and she was 19. At the time, neither could have imagined what the future would hold for them both as a couple and later as close friends bound by deep love. Their real-life relationship is explored in Bohemian Rhapsody, starring Rami Malek as Mercury and Lucy Boynton as Austin.
All my lovers asked me why they couldn’t replace Mary, but it’s simply impossible,” Mercury once said. “The only friend I’ve got is Mary, and I don’t want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. It was a marriage.
Mary Austin and Freddie Mercury
When Freddie Mercury died in 1991 from AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia at age 45, Mary Austin was by his side, as she had been for much of his adult life. He once asked her to marry him, and after his death, he left her half of his reported $75 million estate. This included his 28 room London mansion, where he died and where Austin still lives today.
Now, Austin lives a quiet life away from the spotlight. She and Mercury lived together on and off for nearly two decades, as Queen rose to become one of the most famous rock bands of the twentieth century. After the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, Austin reportedly owns 75 percent of Mercury’s estate and is set to inherit more than $50 million.
Mercury and Austin quickly fell in love
Mercury and Austin met in 1969, a year before he formed what would become Queen with bandmates Brian May, Roger Taylor, and later John Deacon. Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in 1946, moved to England with his parents in the 1960s. Austin was born in 1951 into a poor family in South London’s Battersea neighborhood. Her father worked as a wallpaper trimmer, and her mother was a domestic worker. Both of her parents were deaf.
Austin first met Mercury while working at the fashionable London clothing store Biba. At the time, Mercury had just finished art college and was running a clothing stall in nearby Kensington. Austin was initially hesitant about Mercury’s larger-than-life personality, but they soon became a couple and moved into a small flat together as he focused on his music career. “He was like no one I had ever met before, Austin told OK! Magazine in 2000. He was very confident, and I had never been.
Mercury’s marriage proposal was unexpected
The couple would eventually move to a bigger flat in London’s Holland Road and in 1973, the year Queen’s eponymous debut album was released, Mercury asked her to marry him. “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,” Austin told the Daily Mail in 2013. Not understanding what was going on, Austin asked Mercury on which hand should she place it. He replied the left and asked her to marry him. “I was shocked. It just so wasn’t what I was expecting. I just whispered, ‘Yes. I will.’
Austin was by Mercury’s side until his death
Austin watched as Mercury lived a life of excess, marked by fame, substance abuse, and brief relationships. She chose a different path, later having two sons, Richard and Jamie. Mercury was Richard’s godfather. Though Austin never married Richard’s father, Piers Cameron, her later marriage to businessman Nick Holford ended in divorce.
Despite everything, Austin remained close to Mercury and worked with his management team. When he was diagnosed with HIV in 1987, no treatment existed. He died from AIDS-related complications on November 24, 1991, with Austin by his side.
Mercury left Austin his home and a share of his publishing, treating her as his widow. Austin later said she lost the love of her life. She honored his final wish by secretly placing his ashes in a private location, a secret she has kept ever since.
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