The capsule, sealed at Great Ormond Street Hospital, contains snapshots of life at the time, as chosen by children
A time capsule buried by Princess Diana at Great Ormond Street Hospital has been unearthed
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As one of the best-loved members of the royal family, who dedicated herself to philanthropic causes and became a style icon to boot, there’s little danger of Princess Diana being forgotten. In 1991, however, she decided to plant a few extra mementos as part of a time capsule project – which, in the light of her untimely death six years later, took on an extra degree of poignancy
Silvia Foulkes and David Watson won a Blue Peter competition with their suggestions of future relics, and were helped by Princess Diana to select a range of everyday objects which would represent 1991 to future generations. Among the items were a solar-powered calculator, British coins, tree seeds from Kew Gardens and a European passport, as well as a pocket television and a CD of Kylie Minogue’s third album, Rhythm of Love.
The lead-encased, wooden box also contained a photograph of Princess Diana, and a copy of The Times with the headline: ‘Ministers to debate role of proposed EC [European Community] central bank’. Jason Dawson, executive director of Space and Place and the senior responsible officer for the new Children’s Cancer Centre, helped to remove the capsule earlier this year, alongside staff who were either working there or born in 1991. Describing the process to The Times as ‘really quite moving’, he added that it was ‘almost like connecting with memories of things that have been planted by a generation gone by’.
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