Freddie Mercury’s family in bitter war with his ex who star ‘left £37.5m’ as they battle to get his belongings back
FREDDIE Mercury’s furious sister secretly spent £3million to snap up the Queen singer’s memorabilia after it was put up for auction by his ex.
Kashmira Bulsara was said to be devastated to see the Queen hero’s belongings being flogged by Mary Austin — and was prepared to pay over the odds to keep them in the family.
But she did not want Mary to know that it was her bidding for them at auction house Sotheby’s so she and her son Jamal Zook did it all anonymously.
The source said: “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.”
Purchases made by Kashmira, 73, included a Wurlitzer Model 850 jukebox for £406,400, and a waistcoat with portraits of Freddie’s six cats on which went for £139,700.
He had worn it in the music video for Queen’s These Are The Days Of Our Lives — filmed six months before his Aids– related death in 1991, aged 45.
A military-style jacket made for Freddie’s 39th birthday was Kashmira’s most expensive purchase, at £457,200.
She also bought eight pages of draft lyrics of Queen’s 1974 hit Killer Queen for £279,400.
A Daum Persimmons vase, which had been converted into a lamp with a tasselled shade made by Freddie, sold for £22,860, and a Nike sweatshirt went for £40,640.
Mary sold 1,406 lots for a total of £40million in 2023, saying: “I need to put my affairs in order.”
The total estimate prior to the sale, called Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own, was up to £11.3million.
Some 140,000 visitors attended a pre-sales exhibition, with 41,800 bids across six sessions and buyers from more than 50 different countries.
Mary donated some of the proceeds to the Mercury Phoenix Trust — an Aids charity set up by Freddie’s Queen bandmates and their manager Jim Beach — and the Elton John Aids Foundation.
She had said: “The time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life.
“I decided that it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to keep things back. If I was going to sell, I had to be brave and sell the lot.”
Freddie had dated Mary from 1969 until the late 1970s, and the couple were engaged for a time.
He wrote Queen’s 1975 song Love Of My Life as a tribute to her.
Their relationship ended after Freddie eventually came out to her as gay, but they remained close friends until his death.
Mary also cared for Freddie during his illness.
The singer left Mary half of his estate in his will, as well as his Garden Lodge mansion in Kensington, West London — which she also put on the market last year for £30million.
It has not yet sold.
Freddie, born Farrokh Bulsara, also enjoyed a close relationship with Kashmira.
She spoke about his death in 2021 documentary Freddie Mercury: The Final Act.
A representative for Kashmira said they had no comment to make on the auction.
Mary could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The auction house said: “Sotheby’s does not, as a matter of policy, comment on its clients or their purchases without express permission from those involved.”
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Carve-up of star's £75m
QUEEN star Freddie left an estimated £75million to loved ones when he died in 1991, aged 45.
Half his estate went to former fiancée Mary Austin, along with his West London mansion in which they had lived.
Another 25 per cent went to parents Bomi and Jer Bulsara — but that too passed to Mary after their deaths in 2003 and 2016 respectively.
The remaining 25 per cent was left to Freddie’s sister Kashmira.
Mary was also due to get £187.5million from the £1billion sale of Queen’s back catalogue to Sony last year.
Freddie left a further £500,000 to his partner Jim Hutton, who died in 2010.