Freddie Mercury left final gift to daughter that was hidden away for 48 years
Freddie Mercury may well have left a legacy when it comes to the world of rock music and LGBTQ+ heroes but it turns out those weren't the only things the Queen frontman left behind.
Mercury, who hailed from Tanzania but established himself as a British legend thanks to his showmanship and vocal range as a lead singer of the London rock band, died just one day after announcing that he was suffering from AIDS in November 1991.
The 45-year-old never publicly came out but was widely acknowledged to be gay or bisexual, while he referred to his long-term partner and close friend Mary Austin as his 'common-law' wife.
Around 35 years from his death however, it was alleged in a biography that Mercury had left behind a secret daughter after having an affair with the wife of a close friend.
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According to Lesley-Ann Jones' book Love, Freddie, which was released in September 2025, the iconic performer remained a close part of his mystery daughter's life until his death 15 years later.
In the book, the daughter who is simply referred to as B, states that he even left her a precious gift - 17 volumes of his personal diaries.
After they were hidden away for 48 years, they were handed over to Jones, who used them to build up her biography of Mercury's life.
In the book, B states: "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."
Although Austin has suggested that it would have been 'astonishing' for Mercury to have kept such a big secret from her, his alleged daughter also shared her reasoning for sharing the journals more than three decades after she first received them.
She said: "After more than three decades of lies, speculation and distortion, it is time to let Freddie speak. Those who have been aware of my existence kept his greatest secret out of loyalty to Freddie. That I choose to reveal myself in my own midlife is my decision and mine alone. I have not, at any point, been coerced into doing this.
"He entrusted his collection of private notebooks to me, his only child and his next of kin, the written record of his private thoughts, memories and feelings about everything he had experienced."
The secret daughter sadly passed away earlier this year at the age of 48 following a long battle with a rare form of cancer.
Topics: Freddie Mercury
James Moorhouse