Diana’s 90s time capsule contained Kylie CD and pocket television

A colour television which could fit in your pocket and Kylie Minogue’s third album have been unearthed in a time capsule buried by Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1991.

The container – sealed within the main entrance at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) – has been dug up early as the construction of a new children’s cancer centre begins.

Other memorabilia in the capsule included a solar-powered calculator, tree seeds in a bottle and a collection of each British coin up to the value of £1 to mark the 20th anniversary of decimalisation.

The capsule was buried with a plaque (Great Ormond Street Hospital/PA)PA Media - Great Ormond Street Hospital

Its contents was provided by two young people who won a national competition hosted by the BBC’s Blue Peter, where children were asked to suggest eight items that represented life in the 1990s.

Although much of the memorabilia suffered damage by moisture, the final three pieces included as part of the contest were a sheet of recycled paper, a European passport and a snowflake hologram.

A copy of the day’s Times, to mark the date the capsule was buried, was also found in the container.

A Kylie Minogue CD was among the items revealed (Great Ormond Street Hospital/PA)PA Media - Great Ormond Street Hospital

The main front page stories reading: “US rejects Iraqi warplanes plea as rebels close in”; and: “Cooked meats bring out Soviet voters in droves”.

Diana buried the container as part of a ceremony in March 1991 at Great Ormond Street to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the Variety Club Building, which she opened later in 1994.

The ceremony mirrored one in 1872 where the then-Princess of Wales, Alexandra, laid the foundation stone of the older hospital building and sealed a time capsule, which has never been found.

The capsule was buried by Diana, Princess of Wales at the hospital in March 1991 (Great Ormond Street Hospital/PA)PA Media - Great Ormond Street Hospital

Staff at the hospital, either born in 1991 or already working at the hospital in 1991, helped to remove Diana’s capsule.

She became the president of GOSH in 1989 and regularly visited the specialist children’s hospital.

Just a few months after burying the capsule, her son Prince William, then eight years old, spent two nights in GOSH in June 1991 with his parents after suffering a fractured skull following a blow to the head from a golf club.

Jason Dawson, Senior Responsible Officer Children’s Cancer Centre, helped reveal the time capsule (Great Ormond Street Hospital/PA)PA Media - Great Ormond Street Hospital

Minogue’s Rhythm of Love – released in November 1990 – was the singer’s third studio album, and included hits such as Better the Devil You Know and Step Back In Time.

The Casio handheld colour television was used primarily by those wanting to watch TV on the go.

Janet Holmes, senior health play specialist, who was working at GOSH in 1991, shared her favourite item from the capsule: “It brought back so many memories seeing the pocket TV in there.

The Casio LCD portable colour television was also part of the trove (Great Ormond Street Hospital/PA)PA Media - Great Ormond Street Hospital

“I had bought one for my husband back in the day, for when he had a break whilst driving his coach around the country. They were very expensive then!”

The capsule was opened earlier this year as GOSH started its project to develop a new children’s cancer centre.

The hospital says the centre will be a “national resource for the treatment of childhood cancers, with a focus on research and innovation”.