3 days ago
Freddie Mercury's 'secret' daughter speaks out for the first time ahead of publication of bombshell book
A woman who says she is the secret daughter of Freddie Mercury has spoken publicly for the first time ahead of the release of a book telling her story.
The woman, known only as B, claims she was conceived in 1976 after her mother — the wife of a close friend of Mercury — had a fling with the Queen frontman, a year after Bohemian Rhapsody became a hit.
Her book, Love, Freddie, co-written with author Lesley-Anne Jones, is due out in September and draws on what she says are 17 handwritten diaries Mercury gave her shortly before his death in 1991 from complications related to AIDS.
B says Mercury had a 'very close and loving' relationship with her, adding: 'He cherished me like a treasured possession.'
In a statement published by the Daily Mail, she said: 'I didn't want to share my Dad with the whole world. After his death, I had to learn to live with the attacks against him, the misrepresentations of him, and with the feeling that my Dad now belonged to everyone.
'I cried and mourned my Dad, while fans all around the world mourned Freddie. When you are 15 years old, it's not easy. I had to become an adult without him… For 30 years I had to build my life and family without him… I needed to have my Dad just for me and my family. How could I have spoken before?'
Her claims have been met with scepticism from some of Mercury's closest friends. Mary Austin, the singer's former partner who inherited much of his estate, has reportedly said she did not know B existed. Guitarist Brian May is also said to have had no knowledge of a daughter and has expressed doubt over her story.
B said she was 'devastated' by Austin's alleged response, accusing her of 'saying nothing' for 34 years while 'Freddie's life was distorted, twisted and rewritten'. She also criticised Austin for commenting before reading the book.
Author Lesley-Anne Jones said: 'I am surprised by Mary Austin's response. As a journalist I approached her for interview countless times over many years, but she never once responded. In this book, however, there is only one voice: that of Freddie's daughter herself. The story is hers. The quotes are hers. Her source is the collection of 17 handwritten diaries that Freddie gave her three weeks before he died.'
B said it was her decision to approach Jones and insisted the journalist had respected her wishes 'each step of the way'. She added that the 'reasons and circumstances' of contacting her were explained in the book.
She concluded by lamenting the 'discussions we couldn't have, questions we couldn't ask and answers we didn't get to give' with her father over the last 34 years, along with the 'birthdays, Christmases, moments and time we never got to enjoy together'.
