Ages of Vernon and Petunia Dursley in the First Harry Potter Book

The precise ages of Vernon and Petunia Dursley in the first Harry Potter book may not be explicitly stated, but they can be estimated based on the information provided in the text and the dates associated with other characters.

Estimating Petunia Dursley's Age

We know that Petunia is older than her sister Lily, who was born on January 30, 1960. Since she is older than Lily, the latest Petunia could have been born is February 1959. Based on this information, we can estimate Petunia's age as follows:

If Petunia was born in February 1959, she would have been 32 years old at the start of the first chapter. By the second chapter of the book, Petunia would have turned 33 years old.

Additionally, sources such as the Harry Potter Wikia provide further details. According to the Wikia, Petunia married Vernon around the age of 20/21 and was working as his secretary. Given these details, we can further refine the estimation:

When Petunia was 21, she had a secretary position, indicating that Vernon was likely several years older, possibly around 37 years old. Therefore, by the time the first chapter of the book begins, Petunia might be 32-33 years old, and Vernon could be around 37 years old.

Estimating Vernon Dursley's Age

Vernon's age is more challenging to determine with precision, but we have some clues from the text:

The information provided in the first quote suggests that Vernon was born prior to 1954. Based on this, if Vernon was 27 at the start of the book, and given that the book starts around 1980-1981, Vernon would have been born around 1953 or 1954. Since Vernon is 37 by the second chapter, this would indicate he was likely around 27 when the first chapter starts.

Therefore, we can estimate that:

At the beginning of the book, Vernon is 27 years old. By the second chapter, Vernon is 37 years old.

Considering the context and the information provided, Vernon is clearly the dominant and older figure in the household, and these age estimates help to contextualize their relationship and behavior within the plot of the book.