CHEPSTOW-educated JK Rowling had a magical Boxing Day when she tied the knot with doctor Neil Murray in a secret ceremony.

Among the handful of guests was Ms Rowling's father, Peter, and her stepmother, Janet, who still live in Chepstow.

The couple were married at the author's holiday home, Kiliechassie House, in Aberfeldy, Perthshire.

Her eight-year-old daughter, Jessica, by her first husband, was one of the three bridesmaids. The others were her sister, Dianne, 33, and her new husband's sister, Lorna.

Joanne Rowling - the K appears to have been added for effect as she did not want to use her first name and reveal her gender - was born near Bristol.

She was nine when she moved with parents Anne and Peter and younger sister Dianne to Tutshill, near Chepstow. She attended Tutshill Church of England School and Wyedean Comprehensive School.

Her mother, who had multiple sclerosis, died in 1990, at the age of 45.

Ms Rowling, then living in Manchester, never returned to live in the Chepstow area.

She has tried to keep her personal life private - as reflected by her wedding ceremony - but this has become more difficult as Harry Potter has become so popular.

In an online chat with young fans, she said: "Sometimes it's wonderful, like now, when I get to meet lots of readers. Other times it's hard, when, for instance, journalists come banging on my front door, especially when I'm cooking."

This year saw the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first movie based on her work. It was an instant hit with fans and critics alike.

Her fifth novel - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - is due to be published next year, and Ms Rowling has revealed that she has already written the final chapter of the seventh, and last, book in the series.

The romantic wedding ceremony must have topped off a fabulous year for the 35-year-old author, who has come a long way since writing her first Harry Potter book in a caf in Edinburgh when she was a single mother living in a tiny flat.