Have Freddie Mercury’s Ashes Been Found?

After his death in 1991, Queen's bombastic frontman was cremated. But what happened next has been a mystery for the past 21 years.

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This much is known about the mortal remains of Queen’s bombastic frontman: after his death in 1991,  Freddie Mercury was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery. But what happened next has been a mystery for the past 21 years.

For years, rumors circulated that his ashes had been scattered everywhere from Lake Geneva to the island of Zanzibar, where he was born. Now, reports the Daily Mirror, fans hoping to pay their respects at the “Bohemian Rhapsody” singer have found a clue that they believe points the way to Mercury’s final resting place.

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A small plaque, buried among tributes to other individuals, was discovered on a plinth at London’s Kensal Green Cemetery this past weekend. The plaque reads, ‘In Loving Memory of Farrokh Bulsara. Pour Etre Toujours Pres De Toi Avec Tout Mon Amour.” (Roughly translated as “So I Can Always Be Close To You With All My Love.”) Farrokh Bulsara is Freddie Mercury’s birth name; his parents were originally from Gujarat, India, and immigrated to the U.K. when Mercury was a teenager. The birth and death dates on the plaque match Mercury’s, and the plaque is signed with the letter “M”, which could refer to Mercury’s onetime girlfriend, Mary Austin — about whom he reportedly wrote the song “Love of My Life,” despite spending much of his adult years in relationships with other men. The Daily Mirror has photographs of the cemetery and the plaque.

According to the Daily Mirror, the singer’s longtime partner, Jim Hutton, said before his own death in 2010 that he believed that Freddie’s ashes were buried at Mercury’s home — but admitted it was a “riddle.” Nobody had noticed the plaque in Kensal Green Cemetery, the Daily Mirror reports, because staff did not know that it was there.

A spokesman for Mercury’s estate declined to comment.

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