Revelations, secret codes or simply a message of friendship? The contents of a letter written by Queen Elizabeth II in November 1986 has been the subject of much speculation since her death on September 8. In the United Kingdom, several media have revived public interest in this document offered to the inhabitants of Sydney (Australia), which has been kept for thirty-six years in a building in the heart of this city. At the express request of the Queen, this envelope should not be opened until 2085.
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It is inside the Queen Victoria Building, a 19th century building that has since been transformed into a shopping centre, that the mysterious document is on display behind a secure glass wall. Only its front is visible to the general public. The addressee (the Mayor of Sydney) is clearly identified, and the following text can be read: “Greetings. On your chosen day, in the year 2085, could you please open this envelope and deliver my message to the people of Sydney?” All signed by the hand of the queen, who was 60 years old at the time.
Sunday September 18, on the eve of the burial of Elizabeth II, the story seemed in any case far from being known to all the British, as franceinfo could see on the outskirts of the district of Westminster, in London. And among those who knew of the existence of this letter, speculation was rife.
As the British media pointed out The Independent on its site*, the date of the writing of this letter is certainly not insignificant. The 1980s had indeed seen the restoration of the Queen Victoria Building, threatened since the 1950s. The official site of this building*, inaugurated in 1898 and named after the great-great-grandmother of Elizabeth II, recalls that the building had almost been razed in 1959, before being saved and finally reopening its doors in… 1986, the year when the royal letter was delivered to the inhabitants of Sydney.
In February 2010, the building was even classified as a historic heritage site by the State of New South Wales*, but this was not accompanied by a new envelope. The mystery therefore remains whole and it will be necessary to wait exactly sixty-three years before the Sydnéens – and the rest of the world with them – can finally read the missive intended for them.
* Links marked with asterisks refer to content in English.