In an old wall at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, a time capsule deposited by the Princess of Wales, Diana, nearly 35 years ago, has been uncovered, revealing a treasure trove of memorabilia. It is like a message from history sleeping within the folds of the stones, waiting to be awakened.

The box, or “time capsule,” placed by Diana inside the hospital wall, included a small portable television, a CD from Australian singer Kylie Minogue, a solar-powered calculator, and a copy of The Times newspaper.

The CD was the choice of David Watson, then 11 years old, from Devon in southwest England, along with a sheet of recycled paper and a European passport. Silva Folks from Norwich, who was nine at the time, selected a collection of British coins and a container holding five types of tree seeds.

This capsule was placed in 1991 in the hospital wall with the help of two children who won a TV competition, as if they held the key to a door once closed from sight. The capsule contained artifacts from an era before the internet became widespread; after about three and a half decades, it opened a window to a treasure of memorabilia: items that testify to the changes and evolution of life.

Notably, the items were chosen through a competition launched by the British children’s program Blue Peter, focusing on selecting eight objects representing life in the 1990s. Despite some moisture damage, the items remained distinguishable.

The box was not scheduled to be opened until August 27, 2025, but fate intervened when the hospital decided to demolish old buildings to build a new children’s cancer center. The hospital invited staff members born in 1991 or working there that year to help remove the capsule.

Janet Holmes, a pediatric healthcare specialist, said, “I remembered many memories when I saw that pocket TV there; I bought it for my husband at the time when he had a break while driving his coach across the country. It was expensive back then!”

The new cancer center at Great Ormond Street Hospital helps medical teams develop kinder and more effective treatments in a child-focused environment where youngsters can play, learn, and be with their families during their hospital stay. While the hospital is run by the taxpayer-funded National Health Service, fundraising for major projects remains vital, with a £300 million (about $403 million) campaign underway to build the largest center in the hospital’s history.

With the capsule’s unveiling, those born in or after the 1990s may find it hard to grasp that the valuable Casio TV430 device had only a two-inch screen and a battery lasting just a few hours. Kylie Minogue, the Australian singer who rose to fame in Britain with distinctive songs and appeared in the TV series Neighbours, remains a global icon.

At the time, CDs were new and had overtaken cassette tapes and magnetic discs as the leading music format in the United States in 1991.

Looking back at the historical significance of time capsules in Britain, it is worth mentioning another capsule by former Princess of Wales Alexandra Caroline Mary, who laid the foundation stone for the first Great Ormond Street Hospital building in 1872 and also sealed a time capsule. Sadly, that older capsule has yet to be found.