Freddie Mercury’s former fiancee could be set to receive £40 million in royalties from Bohemian Rhapsody following its box office success.
Mary Austin was left 50% of Mercury’s future earnings when he died in 1991, with her share rising to 75% after the death of the Queen frontman’s parents.
And after Bohemian Rhapsody made £580million in the box office, Mary will be in for a windfall.
Future earnings of Queen are split four ways between the Freddie Mercury estate and his three surviving bandmates, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, meaning Ms Austin is entiled to around 19%
May, Taylor and Deacon are expected to receive around £63 million each in royalties from the film, with Mary receiving around £40 million.
A source told the Mail Online: ‘They will be massively in profit. Because Queen Films made the film they are quite high up the waterfall of money that cascades down from the film.
‘This film was created and managed by Queen, which means they can protect their share. I would expect the studio to get around 50 per cent and the rest to go to the surviving Queen members and the Freddie Mercury estate.’
Mary met Freddie when she was 19 and he was 24, with the pair quickly sparking a romance and moving in together, with Mary often joining Queen on the road.
Freddie proposed to Mary four years after they met, but the Somebody To Love singer changed his mind on marriage shortly afterwards – later explaining his sexuality to Mary.
Although Mary moved out of the flat they shared, Mercury’s company bought her a £300,000 apartment nearby and they remained friends until the end.
Before his death in 1991 aged 45 due to complications from AIDS, Mercury asked Austin to collect his ashes and scatter them in a private location never to be disclosed – not even to his parents.
Mary abided by her friend’s wishes, and has never revealed where his ashes rest. As well as receiving half of Freddie’s estate upon his death, Mary was left his £20 million Edwardian mansion in West London.
While Bohemian Rhapsody received mix reviews, it’s been a surprise hit so far in awards season, winning Best Picture at the Golden Globes and Best Actor for Rami Malek.
