Music

Freddie Mercury will: How much did he leave Jim Hutton? WHY didn't he get the house?


Jim Hutton would have been 71 years old today. He died on New Years Day 2010 but although he too contracted HIV like Freddie, the breakthroughs in medicine came in time to save his life and he actually died from cancer. The couple were together for seven years, roughly the same amount of time Freddie was with Mary Austin. So, why didn’t Freddie leave Jim more in his will? After all he stopped dating Mary in 1976.

Freddie died on November 24, 1991. He was just 42 years old.

He was cared for in his final months by a  small group of his ‘inner circle.’ Jim Hutton and Mary Austin were both there every day, along with Freddie’s PA Peter Freestone and ex-boyfriend Joe Fanelli, who also lived at the mansion.

In Freddie’s final will and testament, Jim received £500,000 – the same as Joe and Peter.

Undoubtedly, this was a large sum of money, especially in 1991, but it was dwarfed by what Freddie left Mary.

Freddie left Mary the entire West Kensington mansion, One Garden Lodge, where he had lived with Jim and Joe.

He also left her his entire fortune, minus bequests to family and other friends and staff.

On top of that, he also left her half of all future earnings from his share in Queen royalties. The other half was split between his parents and sister.

Why did Jim receive so much less?

Peter said; “No. I doubt that would ever have happened. It is something Freddie might have said in a moment but he was always very particular to write down anything he really wanted to happen, especially in his will. Anything verbal doesn’t mean anything.”

It was doubtless a grand and sweeping flippant comment Freddie would make to Jim but had no intention of ever making a reality.

Freddie had always intended only one person to receive the bulk of his estate. He explicitly said so in an interview years before and never changed his mind.

He said: “If I go first, I’m going to leave everything to her. Nobody else gets a penny, except my cats.”

He did actually provide handsomely for the cats, as well as his nearest and dearest.

Even though he subsequently met and loved Jim, it is clear Freddie never contemplated leaving everything to anyone but Mary.

Peter Freestone added: “I do think it is significant that, in the end, he gave Mary the house and half of all his future earnings from Queen. That is what he felt for her.”



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