MILLIONS of Harry Potter fans suspected it, but now they can be in no doubt — Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay.

JK Rowling, author of the bestselling series, outed the character on Friday at Carnegie Hall, in New York.

Taking questions on a promotional tour for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book, she was asked if Dumbledore, played in the latest Potter film by Sir Michael Gambon, had found “true love”.

To gasps, she replied: “Dumbledore is gay.”

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According to Rowling, the head of Hogwarts, the academy that trained Harry in magic, was smitten by Gellert Grindelwald, a rival whom he defeated in a battle between good and evil wizards in the final book.

“Falling in love can blind us,” she said, explaining that Dumbledore had been let down and his love for Grindelwald was his “great tragedy”.

Rowling also disclosed that she had had to intervene to change the script during the making of the sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when she noticed a reference to a girl who was once of interest to Dumbledore.

She corrected the passage by scrawling: “Dumbledore is gay,” over it.

Fan sites have long speculated about Dumbledore’s sexuality, though gay-rights campaigners said they were disappointed Rowling had waited so long to reveal a homosexual character.

“It is great that JK Rowling wants to make her books inclusive of gay people,” said Peter Tatchell, the gay-rights activist. “My disappointment is that she did not make it more explicit. Maybe she feared a hostile reaction.”

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