Freddie Mercury left his house and half his fortune to his ex-girlfriend, who buried his ashes in a place only she knows

Freddie Mercury died of AIDS-related pneumonia at 45. His estate was valued at about £8 million. His will left Garden Lodge, its mews and 50 percent of his privately held shares to Mary Austin, his girlfriend in the 1970s. He had told her, "You would have been my wife, and it would have been yours anyway." His sister, Kashmira Cooke, received 25 percent, and his parents 25 percent, which passed to Cooke when they died. His partner of seven years, Jim Hutton, who nursed him, received £500,000. Assistants Joe Fanelli and Peter Freestone received £500,000 each, and driver Terry Giddings £100,000. Hutton left Garden Lodge after the death^†. Under Mercury's instructions Austin took his ashes and buried them in an undisclosed place; she has said she will never reveal it. Fans leave tributes at Kensal Green Cemetery, where some believe the ashes lie. In September 2023 Sotheby's sold about 1,500 of his possessions that she had kept for £39.9 million.