Following Freddie Mercury’s passing, a longtime assistant shares heartwarming, unseen tales…
Peter “Phoebe” Freestone, Freddie Mercury’s close friend and longtime personal assistant, remembers the star performer’s final moments, his startling AIDS diagnosis, and his resolve to pass away “on his own terms.”
Peter Freestone shared Freddie Mercury’s Kensington home, Garden Lodge, and remained by the singer’s side during his turbulent career, supporting him through his fight with AIDS and the final days of his life.
Through his dedicated channel “Ask Phoebe” on the official Freddie Mercury website, Peter, a close friend of the remaining members of Queen and an official on-set advisor for the Oscar-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody, opens up about his experiences living and working with Freddie.
Freddie Mercury gave Peter the moniker Phoebe, which he still goes by today. In 1979, Peter met the frontman of Queen while working in the costume department of the Royal Ballet.
After developing a “instant relationship,” the two decided to part ways, with Peter quitting his career a year later to work as Freddie Mercury’s full-time personal assistant in 1980.
I worked as Freddie’s main dishwasher, cook, waitress, butler, housekeeper, and agony aunt. Speaking on the twelve years he spent working for the singer before his passing, Peter recalls, “I traveled the world with him, I was with him throughout the highs and came through the lows.”
“When necessary, I served as his bodyguard, and ultimately, I was one of his nurses.”
After Freddie passed away in 1991, his ex-girlfriend Mary Austin inherited the singer’s cherished Kensington home, Garden Lodge, where he shared it with his six cats and longtime boyfriend Jim Hutton. Peter was a close friend of the musician.
He says, “Freddie’s Garden Lodge was usually peaceful because it was his home. Although he had many amazing parties for up to 200 guests, it was a place where he felt safe and did not have to hide whatever he said or did.”
