Brian May has revealed his late Queen bandmate Freddie Mercury lost most of his foot while battling AIDS.

The iconic frontman died at his home in west London, aged 45, on November 24, 1991 of bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.

May has opened up about Mercury’s illness in his new book Queen in 3-D, in which he recalled the time he was left “upset” on learning how much pain his friend was in.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, he said: “The problem was actually his foot, and tragically there was very little left of it. Once, he showed it to us at dinner.

“And he said, ‘Oh Brian, I’m sorry I’ve upset you by showing you that.’ And I said, ‘I’m not upset, Freddie, except to realise you have to put up with all this terrible pain.’”

May also revealed that he and the other members of Queen knew that Mercury was battling the disease, but struggled to come to terms with it.

May recalled: “He said, ‘I suppose you realise that I’m dealing with this illness.’ Of course, we all knew [he had AIDS], but we didn’t want to. He said, ‘You probably gather that I’m dealing with this thing and I don’t want to talk about it and I don’t want our lives to change, but that’s the situation.’ And then he would move on.”

May said the “magic cocktail” of drugs - which means HIV and Aids is no longer considered a certain death sentence - came too late for Mercury.

Freddie Mercury - In pictures 15 show all Freddie Mercury - In pictures 1/15 Freddie Mercury on stage at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes on 5 June 1982 Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 2/15 3rd September 1984: British rock group Queen in concert with singer Freddie Mercury 3/15 1982: Rock singer Freddie Mercury Steve Wood/Express/Getty Images 4/15 Singer songwriter Elton John (Reginald Dwight) with star of musicals Peter Straker, and Freddie Mercury in 1977 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 5/15 Freddie Mercury performing with Queen in June 1977 Gary Merrin/Keystone/Getty Images) 6/15 circa 1975: Freddie Mercury Keystone/Getty Images 7/15 circa 1975: Freddie Mercury, lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen, in concert during the group's British tour. Keystone/Getty Images 8/15 Freddie Mercury with British rock group Queen in September 1976 Ian Tyas/Keystone/Getty Images 9/15 Musicians Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) and Roger Taylor of British rock band Queen perform a free concert in London's Hyde Park on 18 September 1976 Keystone Features/Getty Images 10/15 Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) in concert with Queen in June 1977 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 11/15 Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock group "Queen", during a concert at the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy on 18 September 1984 AFP/Getty Images 12/15 Freddie Mercury on stage in 1984 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 13/15 Freddie Mercury's 38th Birthday Party at Xenon Nightclub, London in 1985 with Mary Austin Rex 14/15 ONE TIME USE Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ilpo Musto/REX (1271607aj) Freddie Mercury and Brian May of Queen in concert at Rasunda Football Stadium, Stockholm in 1986 Rex 15/15 Freddie Mercury with close friend Dave Clark at the Groucho Club, London in 1989 Rex 1/15 Freddie Mercury on stage at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes on 5 June 1982 Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 2/15 3rd September 1984: British rock group Queen in concert with singer Freddie Mercury 3/15 1982: Rock singer Freddie Mercury Steve Wood/Express/Getty Images 4/15 Singer songwriter Elton John (Reginald Dwight) with star of musicals Peter Straker, and Freddie Mercury in 1977 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 5/15 Freddie Mercury performing with Queen in June 1977 Gary Merrin/Keystone/Getty Images) 6/15 circa 1975: Freddie Mercury Keystone/Getty Images 7/15 circa 1975: Freddie Mercury, lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen, in concert during the group's British tour. Keystone/Getty Images 8/15 Freddie Mercury with British rock group Queen in September 1976 Ian Tyas/Keystone/Getty Images 9/15 Musicians Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) and Roger Taylor of British rock band Queen perform a free concert in London's Hyde Park on 18 September 1976 Keystone Features/Getty Images 10/15 Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) in concert with Queen in June 1977 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 11/15 Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock group "Queen", during a concert at the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy on 18 September 1984 AFP/Getty Images 12/15 Freddie Mercury on stage in 1984 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 13/15 Freddie Mercury's 38th Birthday Party at Xenon Nightclub, London in 1985 with Mary Austin Rex 14/15 ONE TIME USE Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ilpo Musto/REX (1271607aj) Freddie Mercury and Brian May of Queen in concert at Rasunda Football Stadium, Stockholm in 1986 Rex 15/15 Freddie Mercury with close friend Dave Clark at the Groucho Club, London in 1989 Rex

He added: “He missed by just a few months. If it had been a bit later he would still have been with us, I'm sure.

“Hmmm. You can't do 'what if ' can you? You can't go there because therein lies madness.”

Born Farrokh Bulsar in Zanzibar on September 5, 1946, Mercury moved with his family to Middlesex in England in 1964 before meeting May and Roger Taylor and forming Queen in 1970.

The band went on to record a multitude of hits including Bohemian Rhapsody and Don’t Stop Me Now before Mercury’s death in 1991.

He was posthumously awarded the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music in 1992 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004.