A 1990s time capsule sealed by Diana, Princess of Wales, at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has been unearthed for the first time in more than three decades.
The capsule, buried in 1991 during a ceremony led by the late royal, was opened to allow construction to begin on the hospital’s new Children’s Cancer Centre.
Among the nostalgic finds were a pocket television, a solar-powered calculator, a European passport, a bottle of tree seeds, a snowflake hologram, and a Kylie Minogue CD.
The items were chosen through a national Blue Peter competition in which children were invited to nominate objects that best represented the decade.
Diana, who became president of GOSH in 1989, placed the capsule beneath the hospital’s main entrance when she laid the foundation stone for the Variety Club Building. She returned in 1994 to officially open the facility.
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The tradition echoed a similar ceremony in 1872 when Princess Alexandra, then Princess of Wales, laid the foundation stone for the hospital’s older building and sealed her own capsule — though that one has never been recovered.
The Princess of Wales continued to visit the hospital regularly until her tragic death in a car crash in Paris in 1997, aged just 36.
Hospital staff who were either born in 1991 or already working at GOSH at the time of Diana’s visit were invited to help unearth the capsule earlier this year.
Despite signs of moisture damage, the artefacts remained largely intact, providing a vivid snapshot of popular culture and technology from the era.
Janet Holmes, Senior Health Play Specialist at GOSH, who was working at the hospital in 1991, said the discovery stirred strong memories.
“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!” she recalled.
The capsule was uncovered as part of preparations for GOSH’s £300 million Children’s Cancer Centre, which will replace outdated facilities.
Designed with input from patients, families and clinicians, the new centre aims to develop kinder, more effective cancer treatments in a child-friendly environment where young people can play, learn and spend time with loved ones.
