Freddie Mercury had a secret love child, a new biography has claimed.

The Queen frontman’s inner circle, including his bandmates and Mary Austin, his long-term girlfriend, were the only ones who knew of the child’s existence for nearly five decades.

Mercury’s daughter was said to have been conceived in 1976 during an affair with the wife of a close friend, who is understood to have died years ago.

The child, who is now 48 and living in Europe, spoke to Lesley-Ann Jones, a rock biographer.

In the biography, entitled Love, Freddie, the woman, known only as B, said: “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.”

She has claimed to have always known that Mercury, who frequently visited her home, was her real father, according to The Daily Mail.