More than 30 years after it was buried, a time capsule compiled by Diana, Princess of Wales and two children to represent life in the 1990s has been opened prematurely – revealing a Kylie Minogue CD, a solar-powered calculator and a passport.
The lead-encased wooden box was sealed in 1991 to mark the laying of the foundation stone of Great Ormond Street hospital’s Variety Club building, which opened in 1994 to replace outdated buildings and clinical facilities.
Two children selected 10 items to represent life in the 90s, after winning a Blue Peter competition. Other objects included a pocket TV, a snowflake hologram and a photo of Diana.
The time capsule was intended to be unearthed in “hundreds of years” but was dug up to make way for the construction of a children’s cancer centre.
Diana became president of the children’s hospital in 1989 and visited it several times before her death in 1997. She helped the two children select the items to be placed in the time capsule. A CD of Kylie Minogue’s Rhythm of Love album was chosen by David Watson, then aged 11, from Paignton, Devon. He also selected a sheet of recycled paper and a passport.
Sylvia Foulkes, then nine, from Norwich, chose a collection of British coins, a container with five tree seeds, and the snowflake hologram.
The box also included a copy of the Times from the date of the capsule’s burial. Headlines on its front page include: “Cooked meats bring out Soviet voters in droves”, alongside a photo of the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and “US rejects Iraqi warplanes plea as rebels close in”.
Images released by archivists show some damage to the objects, but they are largely intact.
The burial of the time capsule was similar to a ceremony in 1872 during which the then Princess of Wales, Alexandra, laid a foundation stone at the hospital, also sealing a time capsule. That time capsule, which contained a photo of Queen Victoria, has not been found.
Staff who were either born in 1991 or were working at the hospital in 1991 helped to remove the capsule before the construction of the children’s cancer centre. The centre will be a “national resource of the treatment of childhood cancers” and will help clinical teams develop “kinder, more effective treatments” for children staying at the hospital, a statement said.
Six things that happened in 1991
• John Major was inaugurated British prime minister on 29 November 1990, after winning a contest to replace Margaret Thatcher, who had resigned after a challenge to her leadership. He presided over a period of economic recession in 1991, with high interest rates, falling housing prices and rising unemployment. Major resigned as Conservative party leader in 1995 after several high-profile “sleaze” scandals, however won that year’s leadership contest, and remained in post until 1997. The US president was the Republican George HW Bush.
• The cold war ended with the breakup of the Soviet Union over the course of 1991, putting an end to decades of geopolitical rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union and their respective capitalist and communist allies.
• The first Gulf war, an armed conflict between Saddam Hussein-governed Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the US, began with Operation Desert Storm, which launched an aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and ended with the American-led liberation of Kuwait on 28 February.
• The British scientist Tim Berners-Lee introduced WorldWideWeb, the first web browser, while working at the European nuclear research agency Cern in Geneva. The first website went online to the general public on 6 August.
• Seatbelts were made mandatory for all adults travelling in a car in the UK. Front-seat occupants had been required to wear seatbelts from 1983, and children in rear-seats in 1989.
• Freddie Mercury died aged 45 at his home in London on 24 November, 24 hours after announcing he had been diagnosed with Aids. On 23 December, Queen’s hit single Bohemian Rhapsody returned to the top of the British singles chart after 16 years, with the proceeds from the rerelease donated to the Terence Higgins Trust which runs HIV-related services and campaigns to eradicate stigma and discrimination.
• This article was amended on 27 August 2025. An earlier version referred to John Major’s time as prime minister, saying he stayed in post until 1995 when he resigned as party leader. To clarify: in 1995, Major resigned as Conservative party leader but not prime minister. He won the party’s leadership contest that year, and remained in post as both prime minister and party leader until 1997.
