The Tragic Death Of Freddie Mercury: How It Shocked The World

Freddie Mercury is one of the greatest icons in music history. His voice and personality made him a symbol of music that will live on forever. Therefore, his death was an event that ended up shocking the entire world...

Freddie led the life of a rockstar. It was in the year 1987, according to his partner Jim Hutton, when Freddie was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, which little by little reduced the health of the Queen frontman.

However, it was not until November 22, 1991, that Freddie decided to communicate his illness. “Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS," was part of the statement released on Freddie's behalf.

Thus, shortly after making his illness public, on November 24, 1991, Freddie passed away at the age of 45. The official cause of his death was bronchopneumonia, which was complicated by AIDS.

The news spread fast around the world, Freddie's death topped the headlines of various media. And the music world, as well as his hundreds of thousands of fans, mourned the loss of Freddie.

Freddie's funeral, which took place on November 27, 1991 and was held in Kensal Green Cemetery, was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest. And as expected, it was attended by various celebrities from the music world, including musicians such as Elton John, David Bowie, and of course, the members of Queen.

Freddie was cremated, however, it was never known exactly what happened to his ashes, because while some say that they were scattered in Lake Geneva in Switzerland, there are versions that say that they are at the foot of the oak that is in the garden of his residence in Garden Lodge, Kensington or that they were distributed among several theaters in London. However, no version has ever been confirmed.

In April 1992, a concert was held in honor of Freddie Mercury, in which the most important musicians of the moment participated, among whom were names such as Liza Minelli, Liz Taylor, and of course, Elton John and David Bowie.

Freddie's good heart was something that was noticed even after his death. An example is the posthumous gift that Elton John received from him. “I was moping about when a friend showed up at my door and handed me something wrapped in a pillowcase. I opened it up, and inside was a painting by one of my favourite artists, the British painter Henry Scott Tuke. And there was a note on the front from Freddie.," Elton said at the time.

It is known that in his will Freddie left most of his assets to one of his partners, Mary Austin, including the copyright of his songs. However, he also passed down things to relatives, as well as people who worked for him.