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Sold gold medal presented to Edward VIII after he launched the Queen Mary.

A rare gold medallion presented to King Edward VIII to mark the maiden voyage of RMS Queen Mary has emerged for sale.

On one of the few public engagements as King before he abdicated, the controversial royal was a VIP guest on the luxury liner named after his mother.

It was said that Cunard had intended to name their latest vessel after Queen Victoria rather than Queen Mary of Teck.

But when bosses informed King George V of how they wanted to honour 'Britain's greatest queen' he is said to have replied 'my wife will be delighted.'

Cunard commissioned the esteemed sculptor Gilbert Bayes to produce a commemorative medal to celebrate the maiden voyage of Queen Mary in 1936.