Freddie Mercury Handwritten Lyrics to Auction

Handwritten lyrics by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury will be among thousands of personal items going on display and under the hammer at Sotheby's.

Among the 1,500 items including stage costumes, artwork, musical instruments, and furniture - and with a total estimate of £6m ($7.5m) - will be his handwritten lyrics to Queen’s hit song We Are The Champions. Written with harmonies and chords across nine pages, they are expected to make £200,000 - £300,000 ($249,000 - $374,000)

Also on sale will be previously unseen working lyrics to the band's song Killer Queen. These were written in black Biro on a single sheet of paper in 1974 (estimate £70,000, $87,000). Austin said the lyrics were especially hard to let go as they showed the process of how he worked, including crossings out and reformatting. She described them as his "most beautiful side".

Other items in the Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own sale will include a crown modelled on the one which will be worn by King Charles III at his coronation.

Mercury died in 1991 and his home in Kensington, London, and its contents have been largely untouched since they were left to his friend Mary Austin who has decided to bring a selection of them to auction.

There will be a month-long free public exhibition of the private collection, August 4- September 5 (which would have been his 77th birthday) at Sotheby’s London following a tour of highlights from it which will tour New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong in June. There will then be six dedicated auctions, beginning with a live evening sale on September 6.