Located in the luxurious Kensington neighborhood stands one of the most visited houses on the planet: the villa where Freddie Mercury, leader of the band Queen, lived. A house, Garden Lodge, of which many only know the external wall, more than two and a half meters high, designed to protect the star from prying eyes.
The artist purchased it in 1980 after falling in love with the property first sight, and it was there that he established his home. Even there where he died on November 24, 1991 due to his illness, linked to HIV.
Garden Lodge was never opened to the public, but after the artist’s death, Mary Austin, one of his closest friends, inherited it and made it her home for more than three decades. Now he’s putting it up for sale for a price equal to its value in music history: 30 million pounds (around 35 million euros, at the exchange rate).
At 72, Mercury’s close friend is putting his immense wealth up for sale, continuing the success of the last auction linked to the artist, in which over 50 million euros were raised from the sale of his assets. Part of the profits were donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the Elton John HIV Foundation.
According to reporter Sarah Rappaport for Bloomberg News, Austin was with the former Queen frontman when he purchased the property. The artist fell in love with the “silence and peace” that reigned throughout the house and decided to buy it the same day. The singer was looking for a refuge in London, a place where he could create and work in peace without having to face media harassment.
Mercury’s historic home in London, the interior of which has never been known.Eight bedrooms, two impressive living rooms, a dining room where the artist organized his impressive dinners; everything was decorated and designed to the millimeter by the artist, who “couldn’t get the decorator to match the ideas he had in his head,” Austin recalls, “he had to do it himself.” Including wall wallpaper. Kitchen, two full bathrooms only in the suite where Mercury slept, a main room, her study and two other rooms for entertainment.
Mercury lived on this property until his death in 1991.The house also features a huge Japanese-inspired garden that Mercury wanted to emulate the famous gardens of Kyoto, with a wooden pergola and a pond with carp native to the Japanese country. A dream refuge, which isolates those who live from what happens on the other side of the wall, and is located just ten minutes from the center of the British capital.
Jim Hutton and Freddie Mercury, in an unpublished photo. Photo: Instagram.He designed it to the millimetre
“The press hounded him relentlessly to come out. He didn’t… why would he?” asks Austin. “This house gave him the wonderful feeling of being able to create, live and have privacy at the same time.”
The facade of the house, with letters from the fans.After the artist’s death, Austin inherited the property, which he kept mostly intact during the more than 30 years he lived there. “I had worked on the house with him and for him. It will always be his. It was his dream. It was his vision,” she says. Now, empty without Mercury’s belongings after the auction, it is ready for sale. Austin is ready to start a new life elsewhere.
“The last thing I want is for anyone to say they’re buying it, exploiting it or tearing it down,” Austin laments. “This is unique, it has its own beauty. I know it has a purpose for someone. It had a purpose for Freddie.”
Source: La Vanguardia
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.