Stored in Whitehall's archives are everything from blood-chilling warnings of imminent nuclear attack to comical details of daily life in the corridors of power. Concerned notes from ministers on the subject of the Heir to the Throne's potential brainwashing by Welsh terrorists are shelved alongside worries about housemaids 'on the wobble' at Chequers. Detailed and surprising plans for royal funerals sit beside reports on suspected spies in the showbiz world and bawdy poetry about the monkeys on the Rock of Gibraltar. And Mary Whitehouse's complaints about the sex education syllabus nestle next to thank-you notes from prisoner 13260/62, also known as Nelson Mandela. Adam Macqueen, author of the highly acclaimed bestseller Private Eye: The First 50 Years, has searched high and low to present us with some of the most unlikely revelations since the Official secrets act was inaugurated one hundred years ago. Not only about Mrs Thatcher's ironing board, but Ted Heath's car, Harold Macmillan's bedroom carpet, Imelda Marcos and her son Bong Bong's trip to Buckingham Palace and President Eisenhower's particular problem with Winston Churchill's trousers.

full of wry, waspish humour The Scotsman The perfect bedside book Guardian A hugely enjoyable bran tub of revelations about our rulers' fancies and foibles over the past century -- David Kynaston Hilarious and troubling Daily Mail Vignettes of British political life from the whimsical to the downright chilling ... delightfully gossipy FT A Daily Telegraph Book of the Year Daily Telegraph

Adam Macqueen has worked at Private Eye on and off for fourteen years. He was assistant, deputy and finally acting editor of The Big Issue between 1999 and 2002 and is currently on the editorial team of Popbitch.com. He was also associate producer on Adam Curtis's BBC series All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace. Adam Macqueen lives on the South Coast with his partner.