The Queen ‘asked for two horses as a gift’ during 1978 state visit to Germany

Germany’s then-president Walter Scheel approved the gift in the interests of good bilateral relations, Der Spiegel reported, citing previously confidential archive papers

The Queen in West Berlin, Germany, on May 24, 1978 (AP)

The Queen asked for two horses as a gift during her state visit to Germany in 1978, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Monday.

The expensive present raised eyebrows among German bureaucrats at the time, who noted that the cost of the Holsteiner horses was more than for any other offering made to a visiting head of state since the end of the Second World War.