Elton John was one of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s closest friends and was one of the few people allowed to see the iconic singer in the days leading up to this death

Elton was one of the few people Freddie allowed into his close circle during his final days before he lost his battle against AIDS in 1991. The Rocketman singer has described the agony of watching his friend deteriorate before his eyes as the cruel illness ravaged his body. Despite keeping his illness a secret, Freddie still wanted to spend time with his friend during his last days.

But Elton could only spend limited time at the Queen frontman’s bedside because he found what was happening to him so upsetting. In his memoir, Elton wrote: “He was too frail to get out of bed, he was losing his sight, his body was covered in Kaposi’s sarcoma lesions, and yet he was still definitely Freddie, gossiping away, completely outrageous. I couldn’t work out whether he didn’t realise how close to death he was or if he knew perfectly well but was determined not to let what was happening to him stop him being himself.”

But Elton was determined the Bohemian Rhapsody star would feel loved as his health declined against the disease. Freddie had been one of the superstars who Elton credits with saving his life at the height of his drug problems. Freddie begged him to go into rehab as his cocaine addiction spiralled out of control as he struggled to cope with his global fame.

And Freddie was also determined to protect his loved ones and fans from his devastating diagnosis until shortly before his death. He only publicly announced he was battling AIDS one day before his tragic death aged just 45. The extent of his illness was known only to those closest to him and back in 2017 bandmate Brian May revealed it had actually cost Freddie his foot.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, May said: “The problem was actually his foot, and tragically there was very little left of it. Once, he showed it to us at dinner. And he said, ‘Oh Brian, I’m sorry I’ve upset you by showing you that’. And I said, ‘I’m not upset, Freddie, except to realise you have to put up with all this terrible pain’.”

And for the final two years of his life, Freddie lived in almost total seclusion. In his final appearance in a Queen video in the same year he died, the rock powerhouse looked visibly thin and frail. He did finally tell his bandmates about his diagnosis but one person he refused to tell was his best friend and fellow singer, Peter Straker, and even cut him out of his list during his final years so he wouldn’t find out.

But even in his final days, Freddie was determined to think of others and spent his last days recording Queen’s final album, Made In Heaven, which was released following his death. Freddie also bought thoughtful Christmas presents, which were delivered after he passed away.