Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year marked by digital gift of global memories

The Jubilee Time Capsule catalogues 8,000 memories from people across 66 countries over the past 60 years.

Submissions narrowed down to the top 60 entries by a panel of judges were presented to the Queen on a Samsung Galaxy tablet by John Samson, 12, from Malawi, at the Royal Commonwealth Society, an education charity based in London.

The gift will be housed in the Royal Collection in Windsor.

John, who won the RCS’s Junior Essay Competition, submitted his memory of being accepted at a school for orphans.

“They gave me a new school uniform,” he said. “It was the happiest day because I had new clothes.”

He explained that to meet the Queen he was wearing his first suit and that when he presented her with the tablet, he helped her activate the touchscreen.

The project, which attracted entries from more than 37,000 people, asked people to submit memories of their most special day during the past 60 years.

Members of her own family including Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie participated, as did Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Danny Sriskandarajah, director of RCS, said: “We wanted to bring the Commonwealth to life and to do something cool and digital for the Jubilee.

“It has been about the Queen but also about the people of the Commonwealth and their lives.”