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Deborah James ‘determined not to die over Jubilee weekend’ so Meghan won’t ‘steal her thunder’

She doesn't want Meghan Markle to steal her thunder

Deborah James has revealed she’s “determined” not to die over the Jubilee weekend as she doesn’t want Meghan Markle to steal her thunder.

The campaigner and podcast star who is receiving end-of-life care for bowel cancer, joked about the Duchess of Sussex in her latest interview with The Sun.

Meghan and husband Prince Harry touched down in the UK earlier this week to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Their appearances so far have been relatively low-key. But with daughter Lilibet’s first birthday today, they are set to take centre stage once again.

And Deborah doesn’t want to miss out on her front-page death announcement because of them.

Deborah James holds her hands up on Lorraine
Deborah is receiving end-of-life care (Credit: ITV/YouTube)

Read more: Deborah James branded ‘inspiration’ on Instagram

Deborah determined to raise awareness

She told the publication: “I’m determined not to die over the Jubilee weekend, I don’t want Meghan stealing my thunder.

“I haven’t worked so hard to raise cancer awareness and money to help find a cure, only to miss out on another Sun front page when I go.”

Deborah, known as Bowel Babe to her millions of followers, is a big fan of the royals and was presented with a Damehood by Prince William last month.

But as Prince William and the other members of his family gather together, along with the nation, to celebrate the Queen’s huge reign, Deborah is struggling every day knowing she is dying.

She admitted in her interview that “dying is really hard” and she’s been “consumed by anger” all week.

The 40-year-old has two children, Hugo, 14 and Eloise, 12, and she has already said she doesn’t allow her kids to see her when she’s at her lowest.

And now she has shared she’s made the decision for that to extend to her close friends. The campaigner only wants to be around her family.

“I don’t want them to remember me this way,” she said, adding: “I was someone who, even for most of my time living with cancer, was fit and healthy.

“So to see myself like this now, it’s heartbreaking.”

She continued to explain that small things like helping to cook a meal are huge achievements for her right now.

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A post shared by Deborah James (@bowelbabe)

Read more: Meghan and Harry skip Thanksgiving lunch over ‘frostiness’ at royal reunion

The post Deborah James ‘never wanted to write’

Deborah revealed last month there was nothing more that could be done for her in an emotional Instagram post.

She admitted it was “the post she never wanted to write” but that they had “tried everything, but my body simply isn’t playing ball”.

The mum-of-two is receiving end-of-life care at her parent’s home in Surrey.

She is also doing all she can to raise money and awareness for bowel cancer before she dies. She has set up the Bowel Babe Fund, which has raised over £6million so far.

Deborah has also done a collaboration with In The Style, launched a book and had a rose named after her. She admitted all of this is “giving her purpose” in her last days.

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You can donate to Deborah’s Just Giving fund here.

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Carena Crawford
Associate Editor (Soaps)