Latest news with #secretdaughter
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Claim Freddie Mercury had secret daughter divides fans and friends
His performances defined an era, and his life story has been dissected in tell-all books as well as on the big screen. But now further revelations may open up an unknown chapter in the life of Freddie Mercury. The question of whether or not Mercury had a secret daughter, whom he told no one about and would now be 48-years-old, has divided fans and the closest people in his life. A forthcoming book by Lesley-Ann Jones tells of a woman known only as B, who claims that the woman is in fact the Queen frontman's daughter – conceived during a fling with the wife of a close friend in 1976. 'Freddie Mercury was and is my father,' she says in a handwritten letter. 'We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life. He adored me and was devoted to me.' Little is known about B other than her age and the fact she is a medical professional working in Europe. She claims Mercury entrusted her with 17 journals that cover the final years of his life, which Jones says are 'the closest thing to a Freddie Mercury autobiography that the world will ever know'. The claims, which first emerged in May and were apparently common knowledge among Mercury's inner circle, have been met with mounting pushback from some people who knew the singer best. When asked about B, the Queen guitarist Brian May said he wanted to remain 'neutral'. However, his wife, the former EastEnders star Anita Dobson, dismissed the claims as 'fake news'. Mary Austin, a close friend of the singer, also doubted whether Mercury would have kept the fact he had a daughter secret from his inner circle. 'Freddie had a glorious openness, and I cannot imagine he would have wanted to, or been able to, keep such a joyful event a secret, either from me or other people closest to him,' Austin told the Sunday Times. Austin inherited about half of an estimated £9m estate that Mercury left after the singer, who was diagnosed with Aids in 1987, died aged 45 of bronchial pneumonia in 1991. Mercury had relationships with men and women (including Austin) and described himself as bisexual. 'The truth is that I am simply not the guardian of such a secret,' said Austin. 'I've never known of any child, or of any diaries. If Freddie had indeed had a child without me knowing anything about it, that would be astonishing to me.' The woman referred to as B responded by saying she was 'devastated' by Austin's comments. Jones – whose book Love, Freddie will be published next month – defended the validity of the claims when they first emerged, saying that a DNA test had been conducted that supported the version of events presented in her Mercury biography. She also pointed to the lack of a vocal rejection of the claims by the remaining members of Queen as further evidence that the details in her book were true. 'What I would say is that the real inner circle – the other members of Queen and Freddie's sister – would have denied this if they could, weeks ago, when the story broke,' Jones said. 'They cannot because, as Freddie's daughter says, they know that it is true.' Jones, who has written a series of books about music's biggest names, has been talking up more revelations that appear in Love, Freddie – claiming she has been 'crafting a narrative that will overturn everything we thought we knew about him and his legacy'.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Freddie Mercury's 'secret' daughter speaks out for the first time ahead of publication of bombshell book
The 'secret daughter' of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has made an emotional statement ahead of publication of a book about their relationship. In it, the woman, known only as B, says: '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, and live all the structuring moments and events without his support. For 30 years I had to build my life and family without him and accept that he wouldn't be there to share the happy moments with us. For 30 years, while the rest of the world was reinterpreting Mercury's life, his music and all that he had been, I needed to have my Dad just for me and my family. How could I have spoken before?' B has now provided a statement after becoming aware that Freddie's ex and close friend Mary Austin is allegedly saying she did not know B existed. Mary, who inherited much of his fortune and avoids the public eye, is understood to have cast doubt on B's story in an interview with a Sunday newspaper. The book which tells her story, called Love, Freddie, comes out in September. B said: 'I am devastated by Mary Austin's alleged response. For 34 years, the truth of Freddie's life has been distorted, twisted and rewritten, but she said nothing - with the exception of her comment about the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, which she called "artistic license". Here, she has not yet read the book, yet she apparently makes this statement. I don't understand why.' The book tells the story of a child who was conceived accidentally during a fling with the wife of a close friend in 1976, a year after Bohemian Rhapsody became a hit. The revelation came as a huge shock to the singer's millions of fans, who have long loved and accepted him as a gay man. His last boyfriend, the late Jim Hutton, is one of a number of who have written books about their experiences with him. Freddie had a number of full relationships with women. These include Mary Austin, whom he met when she was 19 and he 23. The couple lived together and were engaged for a while before he came out as gay. They never had any children, although Mary went on to have two sons with another partner and remained close to Freddie for the rest of his life. A romance with another woman – the mother of his love-child – was however something Freddie kept a closely guarded secret. In the first chapter of the book, there is a handwritten letter from Freddie's daughter in which she says: 'Freddie Mercury was and is my father. We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life. 'He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people's standards, unusual and even outrageous. That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me. He cherished me like a treasured possession.' Lesley-Ann 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. In a lengthy statement, B outlined the reasons why she came to collaborate with Lesley-Ann. She said: 'In response to recent criticism, which I am sure will only increase with media coverage, the forthcoming documentary and the book's imminent publication, I want to say that it was my decision alone to contact Lesley-Ann Jones. The reasons and circumstances that led me to contact her, and why her, are explained in the book. I think it's also important that I say that I approve of the book. 'Some people are accusing her of having made the whole story up, and of taking advantage of me. I want to be very clear about this. It's not just about defending her, it's also about defending myself. 'I want to say that, after I had read the first draft of the book, the writer respected my request to remove certain passages that contained information I had revealed to her but which I subsequently decided I didn't want to be published. 'She always respected my requests, wanting me to be fully satisfied with the final version. At no time did she take advantage of me. I want the public to know that I couldn't find a more attentive, patient and caring writer, and that I personally approved the final, definitive version for publication. 'The past 34 years have been, for his fans, about the songs he didn't write, sing or record and the gigs he didn't perform. But for me - and I'm sure for his other close and loved ones too - these years have been about all the things we were not able to do together: discussions we couldn't have, questions we couldn't ask and answers we didn't get to give. They have been about confessions we couldn't confide, laughter we couldn't share, games we couldn't play. About the birthdays, Christmases, moments and time we never got to enjoy together.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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'.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Freddie Mercury's ‘secret daughter': I didn't want to share my Dad with the world
Freddie Mercury's 'secret daughter' has spoken for the first time about her father, revealing she did not want to share him 'with the whole world'. The woman, known as B, has told of her struggle following the singer's death as she was just a teenager at the time. She spoke on Friday ahead of the release of a new book, titled Love, Freddie, next month. In a statement, reported 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, and live all the structuring moments and events without his support. 'For 30 years I had to build my life and family without him and accept that he wouldn't be there to share the happy moments with us. For 30 years, while the rest of the world was reinterpreting Mercury's life, his music and all that he had been, I needed to have my Dad just for me and my family. How could I have spoken before?' The book, written by author Lesley-Ann Jones, is based on 17 handwritten diaries that Freddie gave B three weeks before he died on November 24, 1991, due to health complications related to Aids. Queen fans were surprised on discovering that he had a daughter, who was conceived accidentally during a fling with the wife of a close friend in 1976, a year after Bohemian Rhapsody was a hit. Mercury's former lover and friend Mary Austin, who inherited around half of the singer's estimated £9 million estate following the star's death, is alleged to have said she was unaware of B's existence. In response, B said: 'I am devastated by Mary Austin's alleged response. For 34 years, the truth of Freddie's life has been distorted, twisted and rewritten, but she said nothing - with the exception of her comment about the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, which she called 'artistic licence'. 'Here, she has not yet read the book, yet she apparently makes this statement. I don't understand why.' Austin and Mercury met when they were 19 and 23, respectively, before getting engaged prior to the singer coming out as gay. 'He cherished me' In the book's opening chapter, there is a handwritten letter from Freddie's daughter which reads: 'Freddie Mercury was and is my father. We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life. 'He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people's standards, unusual and even outrageous. That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me. He cherished me like a treasured possession.' Ann Jones said she was 'surprised' by Austin's response to the revelation, claiming that the book features 'only one voice: that of Freddie's daughter'. She added: '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.'
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Freddie Mercury's ‘secret' daughter speaks about Queen star for the first time after snubbing fame for quiet life
THE 'secret daughter' of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has spoken about the iconic star for the first time - after snubbing fame. According to a new book, a woman was born in 1976 after the singer had a fling with a close pal's wife. 4 4 4 The woman - known as B - claims she was raised by another family but always knew Freddie was her father, with the frontman visiting her often before his death in 1991, aged 45. The secret is said to have been kept strictly between Queen members, Freddie's family and long-term partner Mary Austin. B has now made a poignant statement ahead of the book's - titled Love, Freddie - publication next month. She told MailOnline: "I didn't want to share my dad with the whole world." B added: "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." Continuing, she went on to outline having to "become an adult" without the Queen frontman and having spent the past 30 years building her "life and family without him". B shared her statement after learning Mary Austin, Freddie's close friend and former lover, had allegedly cast doubt over the story. The upcoming book tells the story of a child being accidentally conceived in 1976 - a year following smash-hit Bohemian Rhapsody. Although loved and accepted as a gay man, Freddie had previous relationships with women, including Mary Austin. The former couple lived together prior to the singer's coming out as homosexual. B previously wrote in a handwritten letter: "Fred- die Mercury was and is my father. "We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life. "He adored me and was devoted to me. "The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people's standards, unusual and even outrageous. "That should come as no surprise. "It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me. "He cherished me like a treasured possession." Meanwhile, B previously insisted she had taken a DNA test - to prove the rockstar is her dad. In a message on X, she hit back at questions, writing: 'To those 'demanding' to see proof of a DNA test, otherwise they won't believe it - please rest assured that the requisite verification was obtained, legal teams have been involved, but that such measures are private and not shared publicly.' 4
