Princess Diana’s legacy continued to resonate in a new way this week when a time capsule she contributed to burying in 1991 at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) was opened almost 34 years later.
The revelation was a nostalgic flashback to the early ’90s and the late princess’s enduring association with children’s health care.
The box, a lead-covered wooden container, was buried as part of the Variety Club Building foundation of the hospital. Diana, the president of GOSH from 1989, accompanied two kids who won a contest sponsored by the British television program Blue Peter to choose what was inside. Although the box was supposed to stay sealed for centuries, hospital administrators dug it up prematurely to clear the ground for a new children’s cancer center.
Internally, the artifacts were a perfect encapsulation of the time. Items ranged from Kylie Minogue’s 1990 album Rhythm of Love to a Casio pocket TV, a passport, a Sunday Times newspaper from the day of burial, and a picture of Diana herself, among other memorabilia. Though there was some evidence of water damage, the majority of the items were astonishingly preserved after over three decades underground, NBC News reports.
The 1991 capsule also made comparisons with an older royal tradition. Princess Diana’s burial of the capsule echoed that of Alexandra of Denmark, who was Princess of Wales in 1872 but later Queen Consort. Alexandra’s capsule was incorporated within the original hospital foundation, although hers never was recovered.
The time capsule was also reflective of Diana’s wider commitment to children’s issues. She visited GOSH regularly throughout her time as its president and continued to be a popular patron of the hospital up until her untimely death in 1997.
The unveiling of the time capsule follows soon after another moving reminder of Diana’s heritage came flooding back on the internet. Her brother Charles Spencer posted a childhood picture of himself and his sister at their Sandringham estate last month. In the nostalgia-tinged snap, the siblings beamed with pride as they showed off swimming badges stitched onto their swimsuits, a memory Spencer captioned with nostalgia and affection.
From souvenirs buried in a hospital foundation to household photographs years later, Princess Diana’s legacy continues to be uncovered in ways that remind the world of her indomitable spirit and the mark she left on the royal family and the world that is still timeless to this day.
Jamie Wells has a knack for getting the inside scoop on Hollywood’s biggest stars and up-and-coming talent. With a sharp eye for industry trends and an ear for viral moments, Jamie covers everything from red-carpet events to behind-the-scenes drama in movies, TV, and celebrity culture.
