A time capsule compiled by Diana, Princess of Wales and two children in 1991 has been unearthed prematurely at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. The lead-encased wooden box, buried to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the hospital's Variety Club building, was dug up to make way for a new children's cancer centre.
Inside, archivists found a Kylie Minogue CD, a solar-powered calculator, a passport, a pocket TV, a snowflake hologram, and a photograph of Diana. The items were chosen by two children who won a Blue Peter competition: David Watson, then 11, from Paignton, Devon, and Sylvia Foulkes, then nine, from Norwich. Watson selected the CD, a sheet of recycled paper, and a passport; Foulkes chose a collection of British coins, a container with five tree seeds, and the hologram.
The time capsule also contained a copy of The Times from the date of burial, with headlines including “Cooked meats bring out Soviet voters in droves” and “US rejects Iraqi warplanes plea as rebels close in”. Although some objects show signs of damage, they remain largely intact.
Diana became president of the hospital in 1989 and visited several times before her death in 1997. The capsule was intended to remain sealed for “hundreds of years”, but construction of the cancer centre necessitated its early removal. The centre is described as a “national resource for the treatment of childhood cancers”.
