When Mercury was dying, as if time had stopped, says his valet, he now lives in the Czech Republic

So Freddie looked for you. Do you remember how the first meeting with the band affected you?
When Freddie approached me, I only knew a few songs. There was no internet at the time, and I didn’t even know how many members the band had. I had to ask a friend about that. And when I was in my first rehearsal with Queen, where they played about twenty songs, I met them. But until then, I didn’t even know they were from them.

Then you spent many years alongside Mercury and got to know all of his aspects. What were his biggest vices?
The only two ‘vices’ that come to mind were going to bars and shopping every night. Whenever he was bored, he liked to go to antique shops and auction halls.

Freddie was known as a big opera fan. Did he know any Czech composers?
He did not know any Czech composer, but like almost everyone, he knew the aria of the Moon from Rusalka.

What about books?
I’ve never seen him read a book in twelve years with Freddie.

In 1986, Queen performed in Budapest. Has there ever been talk of other countries behind the “Iron Curtain”, including Czechoslovakia?
No. Because of the ‘Iron Curtain’, Freddie was never very interested in the idea of ​​following her. It was beyond his reach, so he always focused on what he could achieve.

What did you value most about it?
For me, Freddie was the best teacher I’ve ever had. I learned a lot from him about art, love, life and everything that is beautiful in this world. His approach to diagnosis and impending death also taught me courage and bravery.

Thirty years have passed since his death, do you remember Freddie’s last days?
During the last few days, I felt like time had stopped, as if the house was under a huge glass dome, as you see in Victorian-era movies. The house was quiet and everyone inside was waiting for something to happen. At the time, I fully understood Freddie’s courage, which I had spoken of before, because he had never complained and accepted the impending death. I still remember it was Sunday and Freddie had been in a coma since this morning. There was a doctor there and he said that there was nothing we could do and that the condition would probably not improve. We went to change Freddie that night. As we changed his shirt, I saw him inhale on his chest and then exhale for the last time. We ran for the doctor, who just said Freddie was dead. It was exactly 6:48 p.m.

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