Queen given Christmas glitter ball decorations by German president

During her long reign the Queen has received all manner of official gifts so it requires imagination to come up with something she might especially appreciate.

The German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, no doubt having appraised himself of the Windsor family’s tradition of inexpensive and jokey Christmas gift-giving, seems to have entered into the spirit by presenting the British monarch with two sets of glitter balls for her festive tree at Sandringham House in Norfolk.

The decorations were disclosed on the official gifts list released on Wednesday by Buckingham Palace.

He was not alone in deducing such a gift would appeal. The list shows Her Majesty’s secret service – the men and women at the national GCHQ listening and monitoring station – chose the same theme. Their unique Christmas decoration, presented on the Queen’s visit to the National Cyber Security Centre in London, contained paper from the Enigma machine.

Equally unique was the union flag, originally sewn on to the space suit of the British astronaut Tim Peake and worn during his time on the International Space Station, which he personally presented to her.

The Queen, who was seen on television this week examining the Crown Jewels and wearing the gigantic 18g 94.4 carat Cullinan III and 12g 63.6 carat Cullinan IV diamonds – or “Granny’s chips” – added several brooches to her jewellery collection.

She also added to her reading list with presents including 70 Years a Draper, Building a Name – The History of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, A Culinary Epic of Indian Festivals and, undoubtedly her favourite, The Centennial History of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Her passion for all things equine was also reflected in a miniature sculpture of The Kelpies – two 30-metre-high horse head sculptures on the Forth and Clyde canal.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte each received a menagerie of soft toys and armfuls of books from wellwishers, according to the annual list of presents received by members of the royal family. The Belgian royal family sought to introduce the four-year-old prince to one of their most popular exports, giving him five Tintin figurines and a book on the famous comic hero by the Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi under the pen name Hergé.

Both the young royals were given traditional hobby horses by wellwishers in Finland, while the Polish president chose a dreamcatcher and wooden train for George, and a toy pram and doll for Charlotte. Two lollipops were among gifts from the mayor of Gdansk.

The Duke of Edinburgh, who retired from solo official duties last year, collected a military bugle, a Spanish cloak and a travel backgammon set among items presented to him. The Duke of York received one of the most unusual gifts in the form of a prosthetic hand on a visit to UTC Leeds.