IN HER NAME
Prince William pays tribute to staggering £11.3m raised by Dame Deborah James in final weeks of her life
PRINCE William has paid tribute to Dame Deborah James after it was revealed that she raised £11.3million in the final weeks of her life.
In a video released today, William said: "I got to meet Dame Deborah, so I know how important this was to her."
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The Prince of Wales said a big "thank you" to Lorraine for her No Butts campaign, which was spearheaded by Sun columnist Dame Debs in 2021.
Echoing Deborah's campaigning message, William said: "46,000 people in the UK get diagnosed each year with bowel cancer and yet many of us don't know the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer - particularly in us men.
";Please take a second to listen and learn about the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer. It could save your life."
Debs' mum, Heather James told The Sun her daughter would be blown away by the message of support.
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"How amazing, we were all so pleased to see Prince William recognise again the importance of raising awareness of the symptoms of bowel cancer," she said.
It comes after Deborah's mum and sister, Sarah Wieczorek, helped Lorraine relaunch the campaign earlier this week.
Heather, who took part in a dance for Debs with Strictly star Anton Du Beke on the show, added: "Knowing Deborah, she would be inviting Prince William to do a dance for Debs now too!"
Just two weeks ago Dame Debs' family revealed a fund set up in the final weeks of Dame Deborah's life had raised £11.3m.
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Speaking exclusively to The Sun, her husband Sebastien Bowen said: “Deborah would be utterly blown away, I can hear her saying, ‘Wow, this is such a big deal’.
“This money is going to have a huge impact, and will hopefully go on to save many lives. I know she would be incredibly proud of that.
“The kids and I are immensely proud.”
A spokesperson for Prince William told The Sun at the time: “This is a truly fantastic milestone.
"Thanks to the generosity of so many, the impact and legacy of Dame Deborah’s life will be felt for many years to come.”
He conferred her Damehood last May - just hours after a Sun campaign called for the inspirational campaigner to be honoured.
In an “unprecedented” move, the Duke cleared his diary to do the honours at a tea party at her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey.
Mum Deborah, 40, told The Sun at the time that Prince William was “extremely generous” with his time, and was understood to have cleared his diary when he received Deborah’s invitation.
The father of three spent time speaking to Deborah’s two children, Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, offering words of advice and guidance.
Wills, whose mother Princess Diana died when he was 15, told them he had been through something similar.
Deborah’s family put on a traditional afternoon tea with scones and bubbly — and said the “down-to-earth” Duke enjoyed a smoked salmon sarnie.
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Reflecting on the “surreal” day, Dame Debs told The Sun: “The Duke was so charming and put all of us at ease immediately.
“He was incredibly engaging and generous with his time, I could have spoken to him all afternoon.”
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