Private Collection Of Freddie Mercury To Be Auctioned

Sotheby’s has announced that more than 1,500 items from Freddie Mercury’s private collection, including costumes, unique objects, and previously unseen handwritten draft lyrics, will be sold at auction later this year.

The Queen frontman’s collection, which has been untouched at his former home in west London for the past three decades, will first be exhibited in London from August 4 for a month, before highlights are taken on tour to New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong in June.

The items will be sold in six London sales, expected to fetch at least £6 million ($7.5 million). Mary Austin, a bosom friend of Mercury, who has cared for the collection at his home Garden Lodge, in London’s upmarket Kensington district since his death in 1991, is selling the items.

She said of the sale, “I have had the joy and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things that Freddie sought out and so loved,” she said in a statement released by Sotheby’s.
“But the years have passed, and the time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life.”

Among the items in Freddie Mercury’s collection is a replica of St Edward’s Crown, which will be used in the upcoming coronation of King Charles III. The late Queen frontman had worn the crown on stage in the 1980s, along with an accompanying cloak made by his friend and costume designer Diana Moseley.

Mercury had performed in both the crown and cloak at the Live Aid concert in 1985 and during the finale renditions of “God Save The Queen” on his final tour with Queen in 1986. The ensemble is expected to be sold for up to £80,000.

In addition to Freddie Mercury’s crown and cloak, his collection also includes never-before-seen handwritten draft lyrics for Queen’s hit song “We Are The Champions”.

The lyrics cover nine pages and are priced between £200,000 and £300,000. Other items that will be offered at the auction include artworks by renowned artists Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, a Faberge desk clock featuring gem-set, nephrite, and enamel, and an antique woodblock print from Japan.

A portion of the auction’s proceeds will be donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the Elton John Aids Foundation.