The former home of music legend Freddie Mercury is up for sale – on the market for offers in excess of £30m.
Garden Lodge in Kensington, west London, is set in a quiet enclave in the borough, and used to be described by Mercury as “his country house in central London”.
Built in the Neo-Georgian style in 1907, features include a double-height dining room, a fully mirrored dressing room, a bar, library, and a Japanese-style garden with water features and a topiary.
Mercury bought the house in 1980, renovating it over the next decade to incorporate his unique sense of style and collection of art from around the world.
Following his death in 1991, aged 45, from complications related to AIDS, Mercury left the house to his best friend Mary Austin. She would go on to live there for 30 years.
Last year, Austin sold 1,500 items from his home during a six-day auction at Sotheby’s, with part of the money raised going to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, a charity founded by the surviving members of Queen to fund global HIV/Aids initiatives, and the Elton John Aids Foundation.
Items included a replica of St Edward’s Crown, the real version of which was worn by King Charles III at his coronation, previously unseen handwritten lyrics of some of Queen’s biggest hits, and some of his most extravagant stage costumes.
Ahead of the sale, some of the most impressive items toured New York, London, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
The green garden door of the house, which was covered with hand-painted notes from fans, sold at the auction for £412,750.
Speaking about the house, Austin said: “This house has been the most glorious memory box, because it has such love and warmth in every room.
“It has been a joy to live in and I have many wonderful memories here. Now that it is empty, I’m transported back to the first time we viewed it.”
She added: “Ever since Freddie and I stepped through the fabled green door, it has been a place of peace, a true artist’s house, and now is the time to entrust that sense of peace to the next person.”
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Details of the house have not been put online for public viewing.
Potential buyers will be vetted ahead of viewing to make sure they have the funds to purchase the property.
Source : Sky News
