Queen's letter for Sydney that can't be opened until 2085
Sitting inside a locked, glass case, within the dome of Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building, is a letter from Queen Elizabeth II that can’t be opened until the year 2085.
The letter was written by the monarch in November 1986 and has become the subject of conversation once again following the news of Her Majesty’s passing last week.
Addressed to the Lord Mayor of Sydney, the Queen requested that her message be shared with the people of the city in 2085.
“On a suitable day to be selected by you in the year 2085 AD, would you please open this envelope and convey to the citizens of Sydney my message to them,” the Queen wrote on the outside of the letter, signing it simply as, “Elizabeth R”.
The letter in question will remain sealed until 2085. Image: Creative Commons
She wrote the letter after the restoration of the Queen Victoria Building in the 1980s, which was saved from demolition in the late 1950s by “ardent public campaigning” from Sydneysiders.
According to 7news.com.au,it is unknown what the Queen wrote in the letter, even among her personal staff.
In 2012, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the letter came to be in the building when the Queen visited, with then-centre manager Natalie Douglas telling the outlet that the monarch put the letter inside a time capsule and buried it in the central dome.
“Nobody knows what it says,” Ms Douglas said.
It seems that mystery will continue to surround the letter until its fateful opening many decades from now.
Image: Getty Images