Author outs Hogwarts head to US audience

The rumours are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and headmaster of Hogwarts is gay, Harry Potter author JK Rowling has admitted.

Rowling outed the beloved character while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall, New York. After reading briefly from the final book in the series, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, she took questions from the audience.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love".

"Dumbledore is gay," Rowling responded to gasps and applause. She then joked: "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy."

She explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards.

"Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that he was "horribly, terribly let down". Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy".

"Oh, my God," Rowling concluded with a laugh, "the fan fiction".

Potter readers on fan sites and elsewhere on the internet had speculated on Dumbledore's sexuality, noting that he has no close relationships with women and a mysterious past. Explicit scenes involving the wizard have already appeared in fan fiction.

Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth film, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who had been of interest to Dumbledore. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth.

Rowling, finishing a brief US tour, said she regarded her Potter books as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged fans to "question authority".

Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, probably referring to Christian groups which alleged that the books promoted witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, would give them another reason to oppose the books.

Leading gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell welcomed the revelation, but said Dumbledore's sexuality should have been made explicit in the books.

He said: "It's good children's literature includes the reality of gay people, since we exist in every society. But I am disappointed she did not make Dumbledore's sexuality explicit in the Harry Potter books. Making it obvious would have sent a much more powerful message of understanding and acceptance."

A spokesman for gay rights group Stonewall said: "It's great JK has said this. It shows there's no limit to what gay and lesbian people can do, even being a wizard headmaster."

Last night more than 900 comments on the issue had been posted on fan website, The Leaky Cauldron, with many praising Rowling. One fan said: "If I ever thought Jo could not impress me any further, I was SO wrong. To have one of the coolest, most respected wizards in history and mentor of Harry Potter as gay, is the bravest move JKR has EVER made. I salute her."

Another read: "I think that's great because she's such a huge figure in this world and maybe she'll send a message to young children that gay is OK and no-one deserves to be treated badly or discriminated against."

But others on the website were less impressed. One wrote: "If Albus was truly gay, why didn't we hear anything about this in the books? Instead of a revelation, it seems so tabloid."

Another said: "Just adding something like that for the sake of being politically correct is NONSENSE!!!!!!!!!"

Deathly Hallows broke records as the fastest-selling book ever, shifting more than 11 million copies in the first 24 hours after its release in July.