From the Queen frontman's love of cats to dressing Princess Diana in drag

23 November: In 1991, after months of media speculation, Queen's Freddie Mercury released a statement revealing he was suffering from AIDS: "The time has now come for my friends and family around the world to know the truth." The following day, Mercury died.

It was characteristic of Mercury, who was so publicly flamboyant but so privately shy, to keep his illness from the public eye for as long as he possibly could. After all, the same statement read, "I am famous my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue." As such, facts and stories about him are scarce and precious - but they do exist.

To celebrate the life of one of music's greatest loved frontmen, who died 23 years ago today, here are some stories of the man behind the music.