Freddie Mercury’s neo-Georgian London home is hitting the market for the first time since he bought it in 1980, Mansion Global reports. Following the Queen frontman’s 1991 death from AIDS-related illness, his longtime friend and former fiancée, Mary Austin, inherited the eight-bedroom dwelling known as Garden Lodge in London’s Kensington neighborhood. (“I’ve left you the house because you would have been the woman I would have married, and by rights this would all have been yours anyway,” Mercury reportedly told her.) Over three decades later, Austin is ready to let go of the property, which has been listed by Knight Frank for $38 million (£30 million).
Many details of the home remain the same as during the icon’s ownership. The dining room, for example, is still clad in the same bold saffron yellow that Mercury chose. In the primary suite, floor-to-ceiling mirrored doors once housed the singer’s stage costumes and everyday apparel. Other highlights include a double-height drawing room, where Mercury’s grand piano sat, and his beloved Japanese-style garden, pictured in listing imagery with blooming pink magnolia trees.
“This house has been the most glorious memory box, because it has such love and warmth in every room,” Austin told Mansion Global. “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.” Last year, the London native auctioned off $50.4 million worth of the musician’s possessions that she inherited along with the home.
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“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,” said Austin, who was with Mercury when the songwriter decided to buy the place. The green door in question–a popular graffiti spot and place of pilgrimage for fans following the star’s death–was among the items auctioned off last year, fetching $521,104.
