Mary Austin, Freddie Mercury’s former partner and longtime associate, says it has been “really difficult” to manage the inheritance she received from the Queen frontman after his death. Austin, who was engaged to Mercury in the 1970s, has discussed the challenges of dealing with the scale and complexity of the settlement.
Mercury died in 1991 at age 45. Multiple outlets note that his death was caused by bronchial pneumonia related to an earlier AIDS diagnosis. According to the reporting, Austin received half of Mercury’s estate, making her one of the beneficiaries of his will.
While both sources focus on Austin’s comments about personal difficulty in handling the inheritance, they emphasize different elements: one highlights the “complexities” of leaving a multi-million-pound portion to her, while the other frames her remarks as the practical burden of inheriting his fortune. Neither source disputes that she received a major share of the estate; they differ mainly in how they describe the broader context and wording around her reflections.
