The 15-page text to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Mercury’s garden gate also went under the hammer.
The auction of Freddie Mercury’s estate began on the evening of September 6th. The Queen frontman’s piano was the centerpiece of the auction. The Yamaha G2 Baby Grand Piano, on which the singer is said to have composed many of the band’s hits such as “Bohemian Rhapsody”, was auctioned for around two million euros. In advance, the selling price was even estimated at up to 3.5 million euros.
Mercury’s entire estate, as well as his Kensington estate, went to his close confidante Mary Austin. More than 32 years after the Queen frontman’s death, Austin is now selling his household goods at Sotheby’s in London. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Elton John Aids Foundation. However, it is unclear how much of the expected sum, which is expected to amount to almost 13 million euros, will be donated.
Other than the piano, the majority of the collection sold for far more than the expected price. Among the 1,400 pieces in the auction was Mercury’s green garden gate, which fans immortalized themselves with graffiti shortly after the musician’s death. The unique piece brought in 465,000 euros instead of the estimated 30,000 euros.
The original manuscript for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which, judging from the handwritten notes in the margins, was originally intended to be called “Mongolian Rhapsody,” was also part of the collection. The 15 pages of text were purchased for 1.6 million euros, bringing in almost 200,000 euros more than expected.
The auction also included a Tiffany table lamp, a silver snake bangle and a Cartier onyx and diamond ring. The latter was a gift from Elton John to Mercury and was sold for the equivalent of around 318,000 euros. Almost 70 times the original estimate.
Many of the fans, as well as Queen guitarist Brian May, were not enthusiastic about the upcoming auction. Previously, the former bandmate wrote on a social media post: “Tomorrow Freddie’s most intimate personal items and writings, which have been part of what we have shared for so many years, will go under the hammer and be auctioned off to the highest bidder and then for always be scattered. I can’t watch. For us, his closest friends and family, it is too sad.”