Freddie Mercury's Collection Fetches Record £12.2M at Sotheby's

Sotheby's London concluded the first of six auctions for Freddie Mercury's estate, achieving £12.2 million against a pre-sale estimate of £6 million. All 59 lots sold, with 93% exceeding triple their estimates. The auction attracted over 2,000 registered bidders from 61 countries, 60% of whom were first-time Sotheby's participants. The top lot was Mercury's Yamaha grand piano, sold for £1.74 million to an online buyer, setting a record for a composer's piano. The manuscript for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' reached £1.38 million. Brazilian entrepreneur Rafael Reisman purchased the iconic crown and cloak for £635,000, along with three other stage costumes, spending a total of £939,800. He plans to create a traveling exhibition featuring holograms and hopes to borrow other lots. The pre-auction exhibition drew over 140,000 visitors, making it the most visited show in London since the 1999 Monet exhibition at the Royal Academy. The auction proceeds benefit Mary Austin, Mercury's friend and heir.