Bohemian Rhapsody: Does new film show Freddie Mercury's final years? How did he die?

Bohemian Rhapsody is out now in cinemas and the film has divided fans and critics. Early reports crticised the apparent avoidance of Freddie’s private life and AIDS dianosis.

The film does actually address both head on, nothing is hidden or denied, but it also stops at Live Aid in 1985. Freddie is said to have tested positive for HIV in 1987, although the film actually shufffles the timeline to include the devastating moment.

However it does not explore his final years. The movie is a music biopic and as such it is tribute, a loving memory of a band member and friend. It is not a searing and unflinching examination of the darkest moments in Freddie’s life, before or after his diagnosis.

So, what really happened?

Freddie Mercury died on November 24, 1991. He was only 45-years-old.

Shortly before his death, the star formally confirmed that he had Aids, but he did not die directly from the condition. Aids causes the body’s immune system to fail, which renders the body highly vulnerable to numerous infections and attacks.

The official cause of death was Bronchopneumonia, severe inflammation of the lungs which causes chest pains, fever and trouble breathing. 

From June 1991 Freddie was mainly housebound as his health deteriorated, but the singer himself chose to stop taking medication. From our 2018 perspective it my seem impossible to understand why would anyone choose that.

Freddie was diagnosed with HIV/Aids in April 1987, according to his partner Jim Hutton. Thanks to new medications today, HIV no longer progresses to Aids but in the 1980s it was almost always a death sentence.

It may seem incomprehensible for anyone to voluntarily stop taking the medication, but in 1991 it was a matter of prolonging what had often become a painful and protracted decline. Also, the earlier medications themselves took a terrible toll on the body, fighting the virus with almost equally harsh side effecs of their own. 

Towards the end, bed-bound and with his sight failing, Freddie decided to stop taking the medication prescribed by doctors to help fight Aids and the related complications. He chose to only take painkillers and allow nature to take its course.

Friends and family kept vigil by his bedside so he was never alone. In the final months, his former girlfriend and “love of his life” Mary Austin moved back into the Kensington home as primary companion and carer, supported by Freddie’s friends, family and band mates.

On 23 November 1991, Freddie issued a formal statement: “Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have Aids. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease.”

The following evening, November 24, Freddie died at home, with his friend Dave Clark, of The Dave Clark Five, at his bedside. 

Mary Austin telephoned Freddie’s parents and sister with the news before the world media broke the story the next morning.

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY IS OUT NOW