Freddie stopped taking medication
Freddie Mercury’s personal assistant and friend Peter Freestone has told how the musician stopped taking the medication keeping him alive two weeks before his death because he wanted to be ‘in control’ of his illness.
The legendary Queen frontman died in 1991 at the age of 45 after contracting AIDS related pneumonia and Peter, from Surrey - who Freddie lovingly called ‘Phoebe’ - revealed that the singer ‘knew’ his disease would eventually kill him.
Appearing on Lorraine, Peter spoke of his friendship with Freddie and his ongoing work to educate young people around the globe about HIV/AIDS, which he says ‘still kills’ and is ‘never mentioned’.
He said: ‘He knew it was coming, this is the thing. He decided two weeks before the end he would have no more drugs that were keeping him live.
‘He was in control, although the disease was killing him.’ Peter, who is currently based in The Czech Republic, is a regular guest speaker at AIDS awareness events, Queen fan conventions and schools across the world.
He said: ‘Because young people now in schools, it’s never mentioned it’s not talked about. ‘So they don’t know what is out there and it still kills. So that’s part of the job.’
Speaking of his friendship with the musician, Peter insisted that Freddie was ‘so warm’ and said he would do ‘anything for his friends’. He said: ‘I was working at the Royal Opera House, he performed Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Bohemian Rhapsody.