JK Rowling reveals ‘real’ Harry Potter regret over staying mum

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has spoken of her regret about not mentioning her soon-to-be world-famous character to her mother until it was too late.

Her mum Anne Rowling suffered from multiple sclerosis, and died at the age of 45. It was in her memory that JK last year donated £10m to the University of Edinburgh to set up a multiple sclerosis research clinic.

The last film in the record-breaking movie series of book adaptations,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, was released last month.

Speaking about her decision to delve into her family’s past, JK revealed: “Mum died when I had just started writing Harry Potter.

“It’s a real regret that I never even mentioned it to her, that she died without knowing anything about something so huge.”

It was for this reason that she decided to explore her ancestry for an upcoming episode of Who Do You Think You Are?. She added that her mum “was very interested in her French roots but never had a chance to explore them. So a huge motivation in looking into my family history is my mother. It’s very much bound up in that loss.”

So how did she feel about appearing on the show? JK said: “I probably felt as everyone does when they agree to be the subject of this programme: excited, apprehensive, very curious, definitely nervous… I think I cried on three separate occasions – I don’t know whether I’ve set a record.”

Of her experience, she explained: “The story both was, and wasn’t, what I expected. It is inevitably a very emotional experience.”