The capsule, sealed at Great Ormond Street Hospital, contains snapshots of life at the time, as chosen by children
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’.
Princess Diana wanted to instil in her boys that ‘public affection and the rich rewards of royalty must be earned with self-sacrifice and service’
‘There were some really odd things in there that you would have thought at the time were [at the] cutting edge of technology, such as the pocket calculator and pocket TV,’ he continued. Although the items had been carefully wrapped in plastic and remain largely intact, they suffered slight water damage over the years; letters written by Foulkes and Watson, which have been affected by humidity, are being restored by archivists.
Dawson explained that the box was opened so as to take ‘the hopes and inspirations of 1991’ and reflect new beliefs for the future. Another time capsule will be buried beneath the finished redevelopment – in a continuation of royal tradition. Diana’s visit in the Nineties mirrored an earlier ceremony in 1972 when Alexandra, then Princess of Wales, laid the foundation stone of the older hospital building and sealed a time capsule of her own. This contained a copy of the Times and a photograph of Queen Victoria in a glass jar, but has never been found.
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Known and celebrated for her warmth and compassion during engagements, Princess Diana became a figurehead for the hospital, and Dawson maintains that, were she still alive, she would continue to be involved. ‘I have no doubt that if Diana was still with us, she would still be connected with us in some way,’ he said. ‘She really was a signifier of something special.’
