Sir Elton John has revealed how close friend Freddie Mercury's last words to him in a special note delivered after his death had him "crying like a child".
Queen lead singer Mercury died of Aids in November 1991.
Sir Elton has revealed in his memoirs how he was one of the few people allowed close to Mercury in his final days, according to The Mirror.
The Rocketman singer said he could only spend limited time with the Queen frontman because it was too upsetting to see what his good friend was going through.
Sir Elton, in his memoirs, said: "He was too frail to get out of bed, he was losing his sight, his body was covered in Kaposi's sarcoma lesions, and yet he was still definitely Freddie, gossiping away, completely outrageous.
"I couldn’t work out whether he didn’t realise how close to death he was or if he knew perfectly well but was determined not to let what was happening to him stop him being himself."
Freddie Mercury's final words to friend Sir Elton John
The Mirror reported even in his final days Mercury was determined to think of others.
He spent his last days recording Queen's final album, Made In Heaven, while also buying Christmas presents for those he cared about, which were to be delivered after he passed away.
Sir Elton said: "By all rights, Freddie should have spent those final days concerned only with his own comfort. But that wasn't who he was. He truly lived for others."
One of the Christmas presents was for Sir Elton - a painting by his favourite artist Henry Scott Tuke.
The piece of art was wrapped in a pillowcase and was accompanied by a note which read: "Dear Sharon, I thought you'd like this. Love, Melina. Happy Christmas."
Sir Elton explained the nicknames on the note were the pair's alter ego drag queen names they had come up with for each other.
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Sir Elton said: "Freddie had passed on November 24, 1991, and weeks after the funeral, I was still grieving. On Christmas Day, I learnt that Freddie had left me one final testament to his selflessness.
"I was moping about when a friend showed up at my door and handed me something wrapped in a pillowcase.
"I opened it up, and inside was a painting by one of my favourite artists, the British painter Henry Scott Tuke.
"And there was a note on the front from Freddie. Years before, Freddie and I had developed pet names for each other, our drag-queen alter egos. I was Sharon and he was Melina.
"Freddie's note read, 'Dear Sharon, I thought you'd like this. Love, Melina. Happy Christmas.'
"I was overcome, 44 years old at the time, crying like a child. Here was this beautiful man, dying from AIDS, and in his final days, he had somehow managed to find me a lovely Christmas present.
"As sad as that moment was, it's often the one I think about when I remember Freddie, because it captures the character of the man.
"In death, he reminded me of what made him so special in life."
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