Freddie Mercury‘s sister reportedly spent £3 million buying up his belongings after they were auctioned off by his ex Mary Austin.
Freddie Mercury’s family snapped up his belongings when his ex sold them off
The Queen star – who died in 1991 aged 45 – left much of his estate including his London home and its contents to his former lover and longtime friend Mary, who sold off his possessions at auction back in 2023 and now The Sun newspaper reports Freddie’s sibling Kashmira Bulsara, 73, spent millions buying up lots to keep them in the family.
A source told the publication: “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 …. to see which bits she wanted to try to get …
“Kashmira watched [the auction] 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.”
The newspaper reports items bought by Kashmira included a waistcoat emblazoned with portraits of Freddie’s six cats which he wore in the music video for Queen’s track ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’. It sold for £139,700.
Kashmira is also said to have snapped up a Wurlitzer Model 850 jukebox (£406,400), draft lyrics for Queen song ‘Killer Queen’ (£279,400), a Daum Persimmons vase which had been converted into a lamp (£22,860) and a Nike sweatshirt (£40,640).
The auction is believed to have made around £40 million and Mary donated some of the proceeds to charity, with funds going to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which was set up in the late singer’s honour, and the Elton John Aids Foundation.
Mary said at the time of the sale: “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.”
