The “time capsule” that Diana placed in the foundations of Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in 1991 was prematurely opened in London. The princess was chairing the board of trustees at the time.
It was assumed that only distant descendants would be able to open the box, but the walls of the hospital were demolished to make way for a new children’s cancer centre.
The princess together with British children – 11-year-old David Watson and 9-year-old Sylvia Foulkes, who won the honour in a TV competition, chose the items placed in the capsule.
The capsule’s contents are a vivid memory of the early 1990s: a Casio pocket TV, a disc with Kylie Minogue’s album Rhythm of Love, a solar-powered calculator, a collection of British coins and a Times newspaper with an article about the Iraq war on the front page.
Many of the items in the lead box were water damaged but were generally in good condition after 34 years.
Diana remained chair of GOSH until her death on 31 August 1997. She regularly visited the hospital to see young patients.
A new cancer centre on the site is due to open in 2028.
