Prince William Visits Deborah James at Her Family's Home, Presents Her with Damehood: 'Quite Surreal'
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Prince William paid a special visit to new Dame Deborah James.
On Friday, the BBC host, 40, shared photos of the royal, 39, at her family's home as he presented her with the Damehood honor. In the pictures, Prince William smiled with James, her husband Sebastien Bowen, and their two children Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12.
In one snap, James proudly held up her Damehood emblem and appeared to pose for a selfie or FaceTime call featuring Prince William in another photo. The carousel also shows James gathering with Prince William and her loved ones, who held up wine glasses around a table in her family's backyard.
"Prince William actually came to our family house today!!" James wrote alongside the series of images and shared how they spent the day. "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."
RELATED: The History of Deborah James' Fearless Campaign to Raise Bowel Cancer Awareness
Added James: "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."
She went on to salute Prince William for being "passionate about improving oncology outcomes as the President of the Royal Marsden," concluding: "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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James was awarded Damehood Thursday, per a release from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office, just days after she revealed she is in hospice amid her battle with bowel cancer.
"The Queen has been pleased to approve that the honour of Damehood be conferred upon Deborah James," the release stated.
Reacting to the recognition, James told The Sun, "OMFG, this is crazy. I don't know what to say. I'm blown away and feel incredibly honoured. I don't feel like I deserve this. I can't tell you what this means to my family, it's so much to take in."
RELATED VIDEO: Deborah James on Choosing Where to Spend Her Final Days: It's 'Where I've Always Wanted to Die'
In the final episode of her BBC podcast You, Me & The Big C: Putting the Can in Cancer, James shared that she wanted to spend her final days at her parents' home.
"I decided that I want to be at my parents' because as much as I love London, I can't even get up the steps to pee. It's kind of not practical. My parents live in a bungalow so I can see greenery and my whole family can come here," she explained to producer and friend Mike Holt.
"It's kind of where I've always wanted to die," James added in part. "I kind of always had that in my mind."
