Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin: Their Friendship in Photos

Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin together: a friendship that lasted from about 1970 until his death in 1991.

Mary Austin was the woman Freddie Mercury lived with for several years in the early 1970s, and she remained his closest confidante long after their romance ended. When he died in November 1991, he left her his London home, Garden Lodge, and half of his estate. In a 1985 interview he summed her up in a line that is still quoted today: “The only friend I’ve got is Mary.”

The photographs below follow the two of them across two decades, from the long-haired early days of Queen to the parties, premieres and fancy-dress afternoons of the 1980s. They show a bond that changed shape but never broke. Below we set out what is actually known about how they met, why the romance ended, what his will said and how Austin has spoken about the years since, and then look at each picture in turn.

How Freddie and Mary met

According to Mercury’s biographers, the pair were introduced around 1969 through Queen guitarist Brian May. Austin, then about 19, worked at Biba, the fashionable Kensington boutique that defined London style at the turn of the 1970s. Mercury was still Farrokh Bulsara on paper, a former art student selling clothes at a Kensington Market stall and singing with a band that had not yet released a record.

In a 2013 interview with the Daily Mail, Austin remembered being struck by his confidence, a quality she said she lacked herself. They moved in together in a small flat in West Kensington and stayed together through the years when Queen went from pub gigs to A Night at the Opera and “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

Why the romance ended and the friendship did not

In December 1976 Mercury told Austin that he was attracted to men. The romantic relationship ended, but he did not walk out of her life. He moved to a flat on Stafford Terrace in Kensington and bought Austin a place nearby, so that she could still be close. He later called her his “common-law wife” and said of their years together that, to him, it had been a marriage.

Austin reportedly went on to work for Mercury, and she was the person who found Garden Lodge, the eight-bedroom Georgian house in Kensington that became his home. In the last weeks of his life she visited him regularly. She later married the painter Piers Cameron and had two sons; Mercury was godfather to the elder, Richard.

The 1975 ballad “Love of My Life” is widely said to have been written with Austin in mind, although Mercury himself rarely explained his lyrics. What is clear is that he treated her as family for the rest of his life.

What Freddie Mercury left to Mary Austin

Mercury died at Garden Lodge on 24 November 1991, aged 45, of bronchial pneumonia caused by AIDS. Austin was the one who telephoned his parents and sister with the news. Under his will she received Garden Lodge and its adjoining mews, together with half of his privately held shares; the rest went mainly to his parents and sister, with gifts to staff and friends.

He is often quoted as telling her that she “would have been my wife”, and that the house would have been hers anyway. Some online posts present those words as a line from the will itself. That is not established: they are a remark reported by people close to him, not wording from a legal document. Austin also took charge of his ashes and has said she will never reveal where they are.

The years after his death

Inheriting so much from so famous a man was not simple. In her 2013 interview Austin described illness and stress, a sense of being resented, and a distance from the surviving members of Queen. She pointed out that Mercury had shared the rights to the band’s last albums with the others, and said she rarely heard from them afterwards. These are her own recollections; the band members have not set out their side in detail, so they are best read as one person’s view of a painful time.

Austin kept Garden Lodge and its contents largely as Mercury had left them for more than thirty years. In 2023 she put much of his personal collection, including handwritten lyrics, costumes and furniture, up for auction at Sotheby’s in London, saying it was time to close that chapter. The sale drew huge public interest and showed how much affection for Mercury remains.

The photographs, picture by picture

A 1980s party shot with Mercury in the red wrestling-style singlet he wore on stage around the turn of the 1980s. Austin, in a black leather jacket, stands close at his side, a reminder that she remained part of his circle long after their romance had ended.

A close, affectionate moment from the same evening. However busy the room, the pair often appear in photographs leaning in to each other like this.

A more formal picture from the mid-1980s: Mercury in a pale double-breasted suit and Austin in a floral strapless dress. By this time she was reportedly also working for him, helping to look after his business affairs.

An early black-and-white portrait from the first half of the 1970s, the period when the two were living together in West Kensington and Queen were still building their name. Mercury’s long hair and embroidered jacket are typical of his early glam-rock look.

A relaxed outdoor shot from the 1970s, both holding drinks at what appears to be a summer gathering. Austin rarely spoke to the press during Mercury’s lifetime, so pictures like this are much of the public record of their friendship.

Another frame from the leather-jacket party. Mercury hugging Austin from behind captures the easy physical affection that both of them described as part of their friendship.

Travelling with the band: Austin sits beside Mercury on a plane in the 1970s, with another member of the Queen entourage behind them. Partners sometimes joined the band on tour in those early years.

A cheerful snapshot of the two side by side, Mercury in a torn vest and Austin in black. Informal pictures like this were mostly taken by friends and fellow guests rather than press photographers.

Austin styling Mercury’s hair, a well-known 1970s photograph. Having worked in fashion at Biba, she was part of his image in small, practical ways during Queen’s early years.

An arm-in-arm portrait in which Mercury, in a green polo shirt, rests his arm around Austin’s shoulders. It is one of the most domestic-looking pictures in the set.

A black-and-white close-up of Mercury kissing Austin on the cheek. Photos like this one are often shared online alongside his remark that she was his only true friend.

Fancy dress: Austin as a schoolgirl with pigtails and a straw boater, Mercury in a military-style jacket with medals. Costume parties were a regular part of Mercury’s social life in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Mercury in a light blue suit with Austin at a crowded evening event; he appears to be holding an award statuette. The pair often attended industry events together even after he had other partners.

Another moment from the same event, the two laughing face to face. The warmth between them is clear in nearly every picture taken of them together.

A winter evening out, Austin in a tweed coat and scarf and Mercury in a dark jacket with a cigarette. The setting looks like a bar or restaurant reception in the 1980s.

Arriving at an evening premiere in a black-and-white press shot, Mercury in black tie. A cinema sign in the background appears to advertise Desperately Seeking Susan, which suggests the mid-1980s.

A playful hug from the early 1970s, Mercury with long dark hair, Austin in a patterned outfit. This was the period of Queen’s first albums.

A domestic moment at a table laid with flowers and food, apparently preparations for a party. Mercury was known as a generous host who loved throwing parties for friends.

Another photograph from the fancy-dress party, with Mercury kissing Austin under her straw boater. The medals pinned on his costume jacket were part of the joke.

A sunny garden party with both in outrageous hats, Mercury in a sweatshirt printed with the words “Moving Up Joy”. Garden parties with fancy hats were one of his favourite ways to celebrate.

The same afternoon, both pulling faces for the camera. Pictures like this show the humour that friends say ran through their whole relationship.

An early backstage or club shot from the 1970s, Austin in a fur coat and Mercury in a white scarf and leather jacket. They had been together only a few years at this point.

Mercury in sunglasses beside a friend in aviator glasses, taken in the late 1970s. It is often included in sets about Austin, but the identity of the second person is not confirmed in the original source.

A black-and-white version of the red-singlet party, Austin smiling up at Mercury as he embraces her.

One more frame from the evening in the light blue suit, with Mercury kissing Austin on the cheek while holding his statuette. It makes a fitting final image: twenty years on, still side by side.

Why their story still resonates

Popular culture tends to want neat labels, and Mercury’s life has been squeezed into many of them. The 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody brought Austin to a new generation, played by Lucy Boynton, but like any biopic it compressed and dramatised events. The photographs and the documented facts tell a quieter story: two people who were in love, who found that one of them needed a different life, and who chose to stay loyal anyway.

Mercury also had long relationships with men, most notably with his last partner, Jim Hutton, who lived with him at Garden Lodge in his final years. Austin’s place in his life did not cancel out those relationships, and theirs did not cancel out hers. For readers interested in more of his private world, our pieces on his cats and on Elton John’s memory of his final Christmas are linked below, along with another story about quiet generosity behind a famous name.

Sources: Freddie Mercury, Wikipedia; Photographs collected by Vintage Everyday (vintag.es); Bored Panda gallery