We have tragic news to report from the world of music today.
The woman who claimed to be the secret daughter of the late rock legend Freddie Mercury has passed away.
Her death comes just months after author Lesley Ann Jones revealed her existence in the tell-all book entitled Love, Freddie.
Very little is known about the woman, except that she was 48 years old and Mercury referred to her as “Bibi,” according to a new report from The Daily Mail.
She reportedly passed away after battling a rare form of spinal cancer.
The Mail reports that in addition to “Bibi,” Mercury referred to his daughter as “trésor” — which is French for “treasure” — and as his “little froggie.”
Her real name remains unknown.
The Queen songs “Bijou” and “Don’t Try So Hard” were reportedly written about Bibi.
She claimed that she and Mercury maintained a close relationship until his death in 1991.
Her passing was revealed by her widower, a man named Thomas, who informed the Mail that she had died “peacefully after a long battle with chordoma, a rare spinal cancer, leaving two sons aged nine and seven.”
“B is now with her beloved and loving father in the world of thoughts. Her ashes were scattered to the wind over the Alps,” he told the outlet.
Jones — the author with whom Bibi collaborated on Love, Freddie — also issued a statement about her passing.
“I am devastated by the loss of this woman who became my close friend, who had come to me with a selfless aim: to brush aside all those who have had free rein with Freddie’s story for 32 years, to challenge their lies and their rewriting of his life, and to deliver the truth,” Jones told the Mail, adding:
“At the end of her life, it was all that mattered to her. She was very ill throughout the 4 years that we worked together. But she was on a mission. She put herself and her own needs last.”
According to Jones’ book, Mercury fathered Bibi with a married friend, and he kept her existence a secret for the remainder of his life.
Jones says the book is based on 17 volumes of Mercury’s private journals, which were given to her by Bibi.
“She had read my 2021 book about Freddie, Love of My Life,” Jones explained, adding:
“She emailed me to say that I had come closer to the real Freddie in that book than any previous writer or filmmaker — she particularly loathed Queen’s film Bohemian Rhapsody — but that there were ‘still some things I should know.’
“We worked together for 4 years to get the book written and published — on borrowed time.”
At the time that Jones’ book was published, Mercury’s former fiancée Mary Austin gave an interview in which she stated that she would be “astonished” to learn that Mercury had a secret daughter.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.