{"id":42472,"date":"2025-04-23T00:39:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T00:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/42472\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T00:39:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T00:39:10","slug":"freddie-mercurys-family-in-bitter-war-with-his-ex-who-star-left-37-5m-as-they-battle-to-get-his-belongings-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/42472\/","title":{"rendered":"Freddie Mercury’s family in bitter war with his ex who star ‘left \u00a337.5m’ as they battle to get his belongings back"},"content":{"rendered":"

FREDDIE Mercury\u2019s furious sister secretly spent \u00a33million to snap up the Queen singer\u2019s memorabilia after it was put up for auction by his ex.<\/p>\n

Kashmira Bulsara was said to be devastated to see the Queen hero\u2019s <\/a>belongings being flogged by Mary Austin <\/a>\u2014 and was prepared to pay over the odds to keep them in the family.<\/p>\n

\"Freddie<\/a><\/p>\n

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Freddie Mercury\u2019s furious sister spent \u00a33million buying the Queen singer\u2019s memorabiliaCredit: BBC\"Freddie<\/a><\/p>\n

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Many important items belonging to the Queen frontman were put up for auction by his ex Mary Austin – the pair are pictured together here in 1985Credit: Rex Features\"Mary<\/a><\/p>\n

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Freddie left half of his estate (\u00a337.5 million) to former fianc\u00e9e Mary, now 74Credit: TillenDOve<\/p>\n

But she did not want Mary<\/a> to know that it was her bidding for them at auction house Sotheby\u2019s so she and her son Jamal Zook did it all anonymously.<\/p>\n

The source said: \u201cKashmira was angry and upset to see so many of her beloved brother\u2019s possessions become available for anyone to buy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo she went for a private viewing, anonymously, with Jamal and her PA before the auction to see which bits she wanted to try to get.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen when it came to auction time, Kashmira\u2019s PA went in-person to Sotheby\u2019s and was on the phone to Kashmira throughout. <\/p>\n

READ MORE ON FREDDIE MERCURY<\/p>\n

\u201cKashmira watched online and told her PA how much to bid for each item.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had set aside a huge budget so were actually very happy with the final figure laid out, despite paying well over the estimated price for each one.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, Kashmira appreciates how adored Freddie was across the world, but she was saddened to think of some of his sentimental belongings not being with his loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Purchases made by Kashmira, 73, included a Wurlitzer Model 850 jukebox for \u00a3406,400, and a waistcoat with portraits of Freddie\u2019s six cats on which went for \u00a3139,700.<\/p>\n

He had worn it in the music video for Queen\u2019s These Are The Days Of Our Lives \u2014 filmed six months before his Aids<\/a>– related death in 1991, aged 45.<\/p>\n

A military-style jacket made for Freddie\u2019s 39th birthday was Kashmira\u2019s most expensive purchase, at \u00a3457,200. <\/p>\n

Freddie Mercury’s lost song ‘Time Waits for No One’ is found after decade long search <\/p>\n

She also bought eight pages of draft lyrics of Queen\u2019s 1974 hit Killer Queen for \u00a3279,400.<\/p>\n

A Daum Persimmons vase, which had been converted into a lamp with a tasselled shade made by Freddie, sold for \u00a322,860, and a Nike sweatshirt went for \u00a340,640.<\/p>\n

Mary sold 1,406 lots for a total of \u00a340million<\/a> in 2023, saying: \u201cI need to put my affairs in order.\u201d<\/p>\n

The total estimate prior to the sale, called Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own, was up to \u00a311.3million.<\/p>\n

Some 140,000 visitors attended a pre-sales exhibition, with 41,800 bids across six sessions and buyers from more than 50 different countries.<\/p>\n

Mary donated some of the proceeds to the Mercury Phoenix Trust \u2014 an Aids charity set up by Freddie\u2019s Queen bandmates and their manager Jim Beach \u2014 and the Elton John<\/a> Aids Foundation.<\/p>\n

She had said: \u201cThe time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cI decided that it wouldn\u2019t be appropriate for me to keep things back. If I was going to sell, I had to be brave and sell the lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freddie had dated Mary from 1969 until the late 1970s, and the couple were engaged for a time.<\/p>\n

He wrote Queen\u2019s 1975 song Love Of My Life as a tribute to her.<\/p>\n

Their relationship<\/a> ended after Freddie eventually came out to her as gay, but they remained close friends until his death.<\/p>\n

Mary also cared for Freddie during his illness.<\/p>\n

The singer left Mary half of his estate in his will, as well as his Garden Lodge mansion in Kensington<\/a>, West London \u2014 which she also put on the market last year for \u00a330million.<\/p>\n

It has not yet sold.<\/p>\n

Freddie, born Farrokh Bulsara, also enjoyed a close relationship with Kashmira.<\/p>\n

She spoke about his death in 2021 documentary Freddie Mercury: The Final Act.<\/p>\n

A representative for Kashmira said they had no comment to make on the auction.<\/p>\n

Mary could not be reached for comment yesterday.<\/p>\n

The auction house said: \u201cSotheby\u2019s does not, as a matter of policy, comment on its clients or their purchases without express permission from those involved.\u201d<\/p>\n