Mary Austin Reveals the Untold Story of Freddie Mercury

Early Years and First Meeting in West London

According to iNews, Austin first met Mercury in 1970 at a house in Barnes, rather than at the Kensington fashion store Biba where she worked, as some accounts previously suggested. Brought to the home by Queen guitarist Brian May, Austin encountered Mercury before the band had settled on a definitive name. At the time, Mercury was a post-graduate art student working as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport to make ends meet, as reported by The Mirror.

Within five years of their meeting, Mercury rose to international fame as the frontman of Queen alongside bandmates Brian May, Roger Taylor, and later John Deacon, producing enduring rock tracks including “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Are the Champions” (The Mirror). Austin and Mercury soon moved into a rented flat near High Street Kensington that cost £5 a week, living with tight finances that initially afforded them only one pair of curtains (iNews).

Proposal and Lifelong Bond

Mercury proposed to Austin on Christmas Day in 1973, according to The Mirror. Although they never married, their relationship persisted as a profound emotional partnership long after Mercury’s personal life shifted. Describing the depth of their connection, Mercury once stated, as reported by The Mirror: “All my lovers asked me why they couldn’t replace Mary, but it’s simply impossible. The only friend I’ve got is Mary, and I don’t want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage.”

Throughout Mercury’s struggle with his sexuality and a later HIV diagnosis, Austin remained his closest confidante, standing by him until his death in 1991 at the age of 45 (The Mirror). In his will, Mercury left Austin half of his £75 million estate, which included the keys to his £25 million Georgian mansion, Garden Lodge, in Kensington (The Mirror).

Literary Archives and Public Reception

Austin later collaborated on the publication of A Life in Lyrics, a book annotating Mercury’s personal archives and handwritten lyrics alongside stories about their relationship, according to iNews. The publication followed a 2023 Sotheby’s auction where Austin sold several of Mercury’s personal possessions and artifacts, a decision that drew mixed reactions from some Queen fans and bandmate Brian May, who expressed public sadness over the dispersal of the items (iNews).

Defending the release of the personal archive, Austin noted in the book’s introduction that sharing its contents aligns with what Mercury would have wanted, offering readers a view of the person behind the global persona (iNews). “The world knew him as Freddie Mercury,” Austin writes. “But for me, the person captured within the pages of his lyrics, doodles and notes is Freddie Bulsara” (iNews).