A woman who had claimed to be Freddie Mercury's "secret daughter", has died aged 48.
This news was confirmed by the woman's husband, Thomas, who shared a statement.
Reports of this woman's alleged connection to Mercury were first revealed last Summer, after a new biography written by journalist Lesley-Ann Jones, Love, Freddie was published, which looked back on the life of the late Queen frontman. In the book, it was claimed that the woman, who was referred to as 'B', was conceived following an affair between Mercury and the wife of a close friend in 1976.
This woman had also claimed that Mercury had kept a close relationship with her until her death in 1991, with the book also claiming that the singer would visit her regularly and give her 17 volumes of detailed personal journals.
According to the woman's husband, she died “peacefully after a long battle with chordoma, a rare spinal cancer” and has left behind “two sons aged nine and seven”.
Thomas also added that she was “now with her beloved and loving father in the world of thoughts”, and had her ashes scattered over the Alps.
Lesley Ann-Jones also shared this statement: “I am devastated by the loss of this woman who became my close friend, who had come to me with a selfless aim: to brush aside all those who have had free rein with Freddie’s story for 32 years, to challenge their lies and their rewriting of his life, and to deliver the truth".
While it was widely believed that Freddie Mercury's inner circle were aware of 'B's' existence, there was also widespread doubt if this woman was actually the daughter of Mercury's.
Lesley-Ann Jones had told the Daily Mail that she had been approached by 'B' three years ago, saying that when she was first contacted by her, her first “instinct was to doubt everything, but I am absolutely sure she is not a fantasist.”
“No one could have faked all this. Why would she have worked with me for three and a half years, never demanding anything?".
While Mercury's former bandmate Brian May remained "neutral" on the subject, his wife Anita Dobson described the reports as "fake news".
At the time, Mary Austin, a close friend of Freddie Mercury, said: “Freddie had a glorious openness and I cannot imagine he would have wanted to, or been able to, keep such a joyful event a secret, either from me or other people closest to him".
“The truth is that I am simply not the guardian of such a secret,” she added. “I’ve never known of any child, or of any diaries. If Freddie had indeed had a child without me knowing anything about it, that would be astonishing to me".
