Hardly any other person influenced Freddie Mercury’s life as much as Mary Austin. Even after their separation, both of them shared a very special friendship and probably also unconditional love. It was only Mary Austin who was informed of his plans for her own funeral.
During his final months, Freddie Mercury took Mary Austin aside and confided in her his final wish. A public funeral would probably have been appropriate for the Queen singer’s life’s work. But things turned out completely differently. On the contrary, Mercury wanted to rest in peace once and for all and that was only possible behind closed doors.
Mary Austin followed a mysterious plan
Fans now suspect that Austin assumed the best place to hide was in public and Mercury’s ashes were hidden right under their noses the entire time. The singer had divulged funeral plans years before his death: “If I want a pyramid in Kensington and I can afford it, I will have it.”
As Mary later described, the opposite is said to have happened: “One day after Sunday dinner he suddenly announced, ‘I know exactly where you want me to stay. But I don’t want anyone to know that because I don’t want anyone to dig me up.’ That’s exactly how he said it. “I just want to rest in peace.'”
Mary Austin finally revealed that her boyfriend’s final resting place will remain her forever secret: “He didn’t want anyone trying to dig him up, as has happened with some famous people. Fans can be really self-indulgent. He wanted it to stay a secret and that’s how it will stay.”
To do this, she came up with a sophisticated plan. To avoid suspicion, Mercury’s ashes remained in the crematorium for months, as Mary Austin reported. She later brought his ashes back home and kept them in his former bedroom. Even though Austin had moved into the house, she didn’t use his bedroom.
“One morning I just snuck out of the house with the urn,” she said. “It had to be a normal day so that the staff didn’t get suspicious – because the staff gossip. You just can’t help it. But no one will ever know where he is buried because that was his wish.”
According to her own statements, Mary Austin put the Queen frontman’s ashes in an inconspicuous plastic bag and finally set off alone. She probably didn’t even let her usual driver accompany her.
Freddie Mercury’s funeral service was held at West London Crematorium on November 27, 1991. A pedestal there now commemorates his life and work, as does the famous statue on the shores of Lake Geneva. Fans, in turn, continue to make pilgrimages to his London home in Garden Lodge, Kensington, where Mary still lives.
Under the cherry blossom tree
Many fans now believe that Mary Austin’s story is a complete fabrication to distract from the actual burial site. According to them, there is no place Mercury would rather stay than in his own home. You remember how Mercury once said, “When I’m old and gray and when it’s all over and I can’t wear the costumes and jump around the stage anymore, I’ll have something to fall back on, and that’s this wonderful one.” A house.”
Garden Lodge ended up being Mercury’s refuge, chosen for him by Mary Austin herself when he asked her to find him a house. These were also the rooms in which the singer spent his last days when he became ill.
Queen and Mercury fans are convinced that Freddie will remain in his beloved home even after his death. The musician even had a favorite place in the garden. In his last months he is said to have often rested under a wonderful cherry blossom tree. This is where Mercury fans now suspect that Mary Austin actually scattered his ashes.