Prince William returned to a deeply personal connection with Dame Deborah James as her family and supporters gathered to celebrate the cancer campaigner’s life on what would have been her 45th birthday.
The Prince of Wales appeared in a surprise prerecorded message at the inaugural Bowelbabe Fund Rebel Ball in London on October 1. He remembered James for the positivity and humor she maintained during her illness and the philosophy she called “rebellious hope.”
“Tonight would have been Deborah’s 45th birthday and I know she would have wanted everyone dancing, celebrating and making memories,” William told guests, according to LBC.
In May 2022, while James was receiving palliative care at home, he visited her family and personally presented the damehood she had received for her cancer campaigning and fundraising. She died the following month at age 40.
William Said Her ‘Rebellious Hope’ Is Still Changing Lives
Prince William Delivers Moving Tribute to Late Cancer Campaigner Deborah James and Her ‘Lasting Legacy’ https://t.co/ViKjsVgiEL
— People (@people) October 2, 2026
William described James as an “amazing woman” who remained focused on helping other people even as her own health deteriorated. PEOPLE reported that he recalled being struck by her positivity and humor when they met in 2022 and linked those qualities directly to the work that followed in her name.
He also highlighted the practical results of the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, saying its investment in pioneering research is helping give patients more time with the people they love.
The fund supports cancer research as well as awareness work intended to make signs and symptoms easier to recognize and discuss. Cancer Research UK says its research priorities include early detection and personalized medicine alongside campaigns challenging stigma around bowel cancer.
William Presented Her Damehood at Home During Her Final Weeks
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James announced that she had stopped active treatment and was receiving end-of-life care with her family. Queen Elizabeth II had approved a damehood recognizing James’ fundraising and cancer advocacy, and William traveled to her family home to present the honor personally.
The visit was far less formal than a traditional royal investiture. William stayed for afternoon tea and champagne with the family, while photographs from the day showed James wearing her insignia and laughing with him in the garden. LBC reported at the time that her newly launched fundraiser had already passed £5 million.
James herself treated the extraordinary afternoon with characteristic humor. She shared photographs after the visit and described having William come to tea to give her the damehood as “surreal.”
James had been diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2016 at age 35 and spent years documenting the reality of the disease, including as a co-host of the BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C. She died on June 28, 2022, less than seven weeks after launching the Bowelbabe Fund.
The Rebel Ball Turned Her 45th Birthday Into a Fundraiser
The October 1 event was held at the Hurlingham Club in London and was created specifically to celebrate what would have been James’ 45th birthday while raising additional money for her fund. Cancer Research UK billed the inaugural Rebel Ball as a gala honoring her legacy and continuing the fundraising mission she began in 2022.
Gaby Roslin hosted the evening, while Sophie Ellis-Bextor and performers from Disco Inferno were among the entertainment. James’ husband, Sebastien Bowen, said the event reflected her energy, courage and ability to rally people around causes she believed in.
Her children, Hugo and Eloise, were also involved in the evening. The event incorporated the idea of “rebellious hope” throughout the celebration, extending a phrase James used during her illness into the theme of a fundraiser built around continuing her work.
PEOPLE reported that the gala raised approximately £316,000 for the Bowelbabe Fund, adding to a fundraising effort that had already expanded far beyond the £250,000 target James originally set in May 2022.
The Bowelbabe Fund Has Now Raised More Than £20 Million
The scale of that growth is considerably larger than it was during William’s garden visit. Cancer Research UK reported in April 2026 that the fund had reached £20.5 million, after raising its first £1 million within 24 hours of being launched.
By then, it had already helped support 14 initiatives and announced funding for two additional research projects. One is the Bowelbabe Vaccine project at Cardiff University, where researchers are working on a bowel cancer vaccine designed to train the immune system to recognize and attack proteins found on cancer cells.
The second newly announced project focuses on detecting bowel cancer earlier. Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Glasgow are studying biomarkers that could help predict whether people who have had bowel polyps removed are at greater risk of developing new growths that could progress to cancer.