Author Lesley-Ann Jones went to Munich to meet Barbara and the cat in 1996, five years after the rock star tragically died aged 45.
Jones said: “Barbara introduced me to Tarzan, her 16-year-old ‘child’ with Freddie Mercury – a much-loved and very generously fed black cat.
“Following Freddie’s death, she would never leave Tarzan in the care of anyone else for more than a couple of days.
“The spirit of Fred-die could have somehow passed into him, she thought. “
Jones said that Barbara revealed to her: “Freddie felt strongly that our souls do not move from one lifetime to the next.
(Image: Grab)
“He is still concerned for me in death. Whether it’s Freddie or whether he wants me to feel comforted by the cat, it is for me to care for the cat.”
Jones added: “It was the reason why she could never bear to leave the animal for long.
“She lavished that cat with more attention and love, observed her son Lars, than she ever showed her children or her men.”
Austrian-born Barbara – real name Ursula Ledersteger – died of a stroke aged 61 in 2002.
(Image: TV Grab)
In Love of My Life: The Life and Loves of Freddie Mercury, she was said to be “inconsolable” when Tarzan passed away three years earlier.
Freddie had at least 10 cats in his life and his former lover Jim Hutton said he “treated them like his own children”.
Freddie has intensely close relationships with those he cared about the most, with his closest friends and loved ones all being around the singer during his final days.
In November 1991, days before his death, Freddie decided to tell the world his AIDS status, after spending so long keeping it a secret.
(Image: Getty Images)
His friend Peter Freestone told The Express last year: “A lot of good could come out of Freddie admitting to having the disease while still alive. His circumstances and celebrity could be used as a basis for the benefit of other sufferers and those affected by the disease.
“It would show that anyone was at risk.”
He said that following Freddie’s statement, he had a peaceful night, adding that the reactions of others “no longer concerned him”.
Two days later, the musician died of AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia, on November 24.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
