On March 18, 1991, Princess Diana was part of a group that buried a time capsule at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, and now, that time capsule has officially been uncovered. Archivists have opened up the capsule and shared what was inside, and it’s a total trip back in time, giving us all the ’90s vibes. Diana even left a little piece of herself (and her kids Prince Harry and Prince William) in the capsule, too.
According to The Times, Diana was the president of the children’s hospital at the time, and she buried the time capsule with the help of two children who won a contest to help her decide what should go in the capsule. It was supposed to be unearthed hundreds of years later, but since the hospital is rebuilding the area that it was buried in, it had to be moved, so the time to bring it back out came early.
Even though the ’90s were less than 40 years ago, it’s still pretty interesting to see what Diana and the children decided to add to the capsule.
Jason Dawson, the executive director of Space and Place at the hospital, called opening up the time capsule “quite moving.”
“Almost like connecting with memories of things that have been planted by a generation gone by,” he said. “There were some really odd things in there that you would have thought at the time were cutting edge of technology, such as the pocket calculator and pocket TV. When you look at them now, they almost look like toys. We had no technology to even try to play the CD on.”
The other items inside the capsule included British coins, tree seeds, and a European passport, among others.
Princess Diana chose to include a photo of herself with Prince William and Prince Harry, who were 8 and 6 years old at the time — that must have been cool to find in there!
“I have no doubt that if Diana was still with us, she would still be connected with us in some way,” Jason said. “She really was a signifier of something special.”
Known for her love of working with children and for showing compassion for the sick, there’s no doubt that the children’s hospital held a special place in her heart.
