Freddie Mercury's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' piano up for sale, expected to fetch $3.8 million

Freddie Mercury's piano, which was used to compose the famous song 'Bohemian Rhapsody', is set to be auctioned at Sotheby's London in September where it is expected to fetch up to $3.8 million.

"It was an extension of himself, his vehicle of creativity," Mercury's long-time friend Austin said of the baby grand piano. He has been looking after the singer's collections since his death from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991. "He (Freddie Mercury) would never smoke at the piano or rest a glass on top of it and would ensure nobody else did either. The piano was always pristine."

The piano is only one of the over 1,400 of Mercury's personal items including handwritten lyrics, art and collectibles from Mercury's London home, Garden Lodge will be on display in an exhibition dubbed 'Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own' in London from August 4 to September 5. All these items will then be sold at auction later that month.

"We've conceived our gallery spaces to give it a sense of what it was like living with Freddie at home," said David MacDonald, head of single-owner sales at Sotheby's London said. "If he was to walk in, he'd instantly recognise some of the spaces we've created."