A rare glimpse into Princess Diana’s world has been unveiled with the opening of a time capsule she buried at Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1991. Sealed for more than three decades, the box was unearthed on 27 August 2025 during construction of a new children’s cancer centre.
A royal snapshot of the 1990s
The capsule, a lead-lined wooden box placed within the hospital’s Variety Club Building, contained an assortment of objects that captured the spirit of the early 1990s. Among them were Kylie Minogue’s 1990 album Rhythm of Love, a Casio pocket television with a two-inch screen, a solar-powered calculator, a European passport, a copy of The Times newspaper from the day of burial, British coins, tree seeds, a snowflake hologram, and a signed photograph of Diana herself.
Although some items showed signs of moisture damage, most survived intact, offering a vivid reminder of an era just on the cusp of the digital age. For many, the rediscovery is both nostalgic and deeply poignant, a reminder of Diana’s enduring connection to children and her role as president of Great Ormond Street Hospital from 1989.
Chosen by children for the children
The contents were not selected by Diana alone. In keeping with her dedication to involving young people, the items were chosen by two children through a competition run by the BBC children’s programme Blue Peter. Eleven-year-old David Watson from Devon suggested the Kylie Minogue CD and the recycled paper, while nine-year-old Sylvia Foulkes from Norwich chose the coins, seeds and hologram. Their contributions gave the capsule a playful, personal quality that reflected everyday life in the early 1990s.
Hospital staff born in or working at Great Ormond Street in 1991 were invited to witness the capsule’s removal. One long-serving play specialist, Janet Holmes, reflected on the nostalgia the items stirred. “It brought back so many memories seeing the pocket TV in there. I had bought one for my husband back in the day, for when he had a break whilst driving his coach around the country. They were very expensive then.”
A tradition of royal time capsules
Diana’s act of sealing a time capsule echoed a royal precedent. In 1872, Alexandra of Denmark, another Princess of Wales who later became Queen Consort, placed a capsule in the foundations of an older hospital building. Unlike Diana’s, however, Alexandra’s has never been retrieved.
The unsealing of Diana’s capsule was not originally intended to happen so soon. It had been designed to remain hidden for centuries, but with the hospital redeveloping parts of its campus, the box was carefully removed from its resting place.
al egacy that continues to inspire
The reopening of the capsule comes at a symbolic moment for Great Ormond Street Hospital as it embarks on its largest ever fundraising drive to support the new £300 million children’s cancer centre. The project aims to provide state-of-the-art care in a child-focused environment that allows young patients to continue learning, playing and spending time with their families during treatment.
For those who remember Diana’s compassion and her natural affinity with children, the capsule’s rediscovery is a moving reminder of her legacy. Nearly three decades after her death, the items she helped preserve speak not only to the fashions and technologies of the early 1990s, but also to her enduring belief in the importance of kindness, connection and hope for the next generation.
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Featured Image: Getty
