Prince William’s powerful advice for Deborah James’ kids after losing his own mum Princess Diana

(Image credit: Anwar Hussein/WireImage/Future)

published 14 August 2022

Dame Deborah James' widow has revealed that Prince William gave his children some 'powerful advice' before their mother's tragic death.

Prince William visited Deborah James and her family at their home to present her with a damehood earlier this year
The campaigner died on the 28th of June 2022 following a five-year battle against stage four bowel cancer.
In other royal news, Prince Charles is planning to bring Prince Harry back to the monarchy, according to royal expert

When Prince William visited the home of Dame Deborah James earlier this year while she received end-of-life treatment, he reportedly offered kindness and shared some 'powerful advice' with her young children as they prepared to say goodbye to their mother.

While at her home, the future king presented the broadcaster and campaigner with a damehood in recognition of her incredible work raising awareness of, and money for, bowel cancer.

Deborah's widow, Sebastien Bowen, shares two children with the late campaigner and told The Times that the future king "felt like a friend" when he visited their family.

A post shared by Deborah James (@bowelbabe)
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Captioning a collection of photographs from William's visit at the time, Deborah wrote, "Prince William actually came to our family house today!!

"I am utterly honoured that he joined us for afternoon tea and champagne, where he not only spent a generous amount of time talking to my whole family but also honoured me with my Damehood.

"It’s quite surreal having a royal pop in at home, and yes you can imagine the cleaning antics and preparation went off the scale - but it was all irrelevant because William was so kind and he put us all at ease.

"He is clearly passionate about improving oncology outcomes as the President of the Royal Marsden. It was such a special day for my whole family, making memories to last a life time. He’s welcome back any time!"

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Princess Dianas funeral — (Image credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

Recalling the royal visit, Sebastien said that Prince William "felt like a friend" and was "so relaxed" as he spoke with his late wife over a glass of Champagne.

"Deborah had a glass of champagne, a glass of wine and a glass of sherry in front of her," he told The Times. "She hadn’t been allowed a drink for months and the first thing William said was, 'I’m glad to see you are triple parked'."

According to Bowen, Prince William spoke of the "similar grief" he felt when he lost his own mother, Princess Diana, in August 1997 and shared some 'powerful advice' with his children Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, as the siblings prepared to spend their final few weeks with their mother.

"He’s obviously been through similar grief with the loss of his mother so he gave powerful advice to the children that will stay with them forever," he revealed.

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Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.