Harry Potter fans raise wands in tribute to Dame Maggie Smith outside Hogwarts

A assemblage of Harry Potter fans raised their wands extracurricular the Hogwarts Castle replica successful Florida successful a tribute to Dame Maggie Smith, who died successful infirmary astatine the property of 89

Harry Potter fans raised their wands extracurricular the Hogwarts Castle replica successful Florida successful a tribute to Dame Maggie Smith, who died successful infirmary astatine property 89.

Mourners gathered astatine The Wizarding World of Harry Potter successful Universal Studios successful Orlando to honour the representation of the precocious actress, who played Professor Minerva McGonagall successful the movie series.

The heartfelt tribute is portion of a contented carried retired by Harry Potter fans erstwhile an histrion of the movie franchise dies.

It echoes the country successful Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince erstwhile students and unit of Hogwarts rise their wands pursuing the decease of Albus Dumbledore.

A TikTok video filmed by Geraint Walker, 32, shows dozens of attendees lifting their wands skyward extracurricular the castle to a smattering of cheering followed by silence.

The objective informaticist based successful Port Talbot, Wales, captioned the footage: "Wands up for Dame Maggie Smith/Professor McGonagall astatine @UniversalDestinations Florida #wandsupformcgonagall #maggiesmith."

Mr Walker said: "The ambiance was rather sombre, rather muted, but besides respectful astatine the aforesaid time."

"It's the archetypal clip I've been determination erstwhile the wands went up, truthful I didn't really cognize what was going to happen, but it each conscionable created that feeling of respect to Dame Maggie Smith."

"We arsenic a household are rather large Harry Potter fans and Professor McGonagall arsenic a quality means a batch to people, benignant of a beauteous fig that everyone loves and knows."

He said that "you tin spot the outpouring of respect not conscionable for Harry Potter but for each the different films" and TV shows Dame Maggie has starred in, including David Copperfield, Sister Act and Downton Abbey.

"I deliberation Dame Maggie Smith is simply a precise respected and loved idiosyncratic arsenic an histrion and is astir apt 1 of the champion of this existent procreation of actresses successful the UK, and astir apt into the aboriginal arsenic well," Mr Walker added.

Harry Potter stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint paid tribute to Dame Maggie pursuing her death.

Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter, has remembered Dame Maggie arsenic a "fierce intellect" with a "gloriously crisp tongue" who enactment him astatine easiness erstwhile helium archetypal met her arsenic a kid actor.

Grint, who played Ron Weasley, said helium feels "incredibly lucky" to person worked with her portion Watson, who starred arsenic Hermione Granger successful the phantasy movie series, said the histrion was "real, honest, comic and self-honouring".

Harry Potter writer JK Rowling wrote connected X: "Somehow I thought she'd unrecorded forever. RIP Dame Maggie Smith."