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Queen legend had a . The woman, whose identity is being protected, revealed she has hidden her true identity since she was a child, until now. She was the product of Freddie having a fling with a close friend's wife in 1976, and was only known about by Freddie's bandmates, parents, sister and his long-term partner Mary Austin.

The new book, Love, Freddie, written by biographer Lesley-Ann Jones, details the shocking secret as his child, only known as B, . The trio decided she would be brought up by her mother and her stepfather, with Freddie ensuring he spent time with the little girl. But whilst Freddie kept his daughter secret from the world, they had a close relationship, as Jones revealed Mercury had his own home at the family's house and would regularly visit.

Even when on tour or in the recording studio, he made sure to speak to her every day. Jones told Daily Mail: "She knew from toddlerhood which of the two men was her real father," Jones explained. "Outside the unusual family, privacy and discretion were maintained to a degree that not even some members of Freddie's personal household had any idea that he had a child."

Before his death in 1991 from AIDS, Freddie gave his daughter 17 volumes of his personal journals, and asked her not to read the more shocking stories until she was 25.

She has stated that if anyone ever tried to claim ownership of the diaries, she will burn them.

His daughter now lives in Europe, and is a medical professional, and has children of her own, making Freddie a posthumous granddad.

In a handwritten letter, B penned: "Freddie Mercury was and is my father. We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life."

"He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people's standards, unusual and even outrageous. That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me.

"He cherished me like a treasured possession."