Inside Freddie Mercury's family's battle to 'get back belongings worth millions', after ex-girlfriend auctions them off
23 April 2025, 09:38
Freddie Mercury's sister spent £3 million buying back the Queen star's belongings after his ex-girlfriend sold them off.
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Mary Austin, who was engaged to Mercury before he came out as gay, auctioned off over 1,400 items for a total of £40 million.
Kashmira Bulsara, Mercury's sister, could not bear for so many of her brother's belongings to leave the family, so shelled out for several of them, the Sun reported.
Purchases included a £400,000 jukebox, a £140,000 waistcoat with portraits of his cats, and a £457,000 military-style jacket made for his 39th birthday.
She also bought eight pages of draft lyrics of the song Killer Queen for more than £279,000.
Bulsara did not buy the items in person at auctioneers Sotheby's, instead bidding anonymously with her son Jamal.
A source told the paper: "Kashmira was angry and upset to see so many of her beloved brother’s possessions become available for anyone to buy.
“So 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.
“Then when it came to auction time, Kashmira’s PA went in-person to Sotheby’s and was on the phone to Kashmira throughout.
“Kashmira watched online and told her PA how much to bid for each item.
“They 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.
“Of 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."
Mercury and Austin dated for several years from the late 1960s to late 1970s. They remained close even after he came out, and he wrote the song Love of My Life about her.
Austin also cared for the singer as he died of pneumonia related to AIDS in 1991, aged 45.
Mercury left 50% of his estate to Austin, with 25% going to his sister and a quarter left to his parents.
