Leicester student crowned first openly gay Miss England winner

Grace Richardson (20), from Leicester was crowned the winner of Miss England 2025, making her the first openly gay winner of the beauty contest. Grace, a performing arts student and part-time model, first came out five years ago at the age of 15. While her family and close friends were supportive, her sexuality did lead to homophobic slurs and bullying at school. Grace said that her historic win for the community has left her “in shock”.

"Knowing I'm able to share my story and represent a part of our community that hasn't been represented in this way before is really special.

"It is important for young people in the LGBTQ community to see people representing them in all types of walks of life.

"I haven't seen anyone in pageantry talk about sexuality in the way that I have so it is important to me for them to feel seen.

"I'm feeling quite empowered right now knowing that there is a whole community of women out there that are going to hopefully feel inspired by the fact that I have gone and said that so publicly in a competition where it's not really talked about."

Representing the East Midlands, Grace was crowned Miss England on Friday 21^st November, at Wolverhampton’s Grand Station, following a series of qualifying competitions. After winning Miss Leicestershire 2024, she re-entered this year’s Miss England and won Miss East Midlands 2025, before impressing the judges across several rounds, including winning the Talent round with a singing and dancing performance.

She sadly missed out on the Sports Round of the competition due to an injury, however her comeback in the talent round “demonstrated her resilience, determination, and true star quality,” explains a press release from Miss England.

Grace was crowned by departing Miss England, Charlotte Grant, in a moment she describes as one of “immense pride and significance”.

This year’s contest finalists collectively raised £42,000 for Beauty with a Purpose, the Miss World charity that supports humanitarian projects around the globe. Grace will now represent England at the next Miss World in 2026, which she says she is "beyond excited" to attend.