Grace Richardson walked onto the Miss England stage as a 20-year-old musical-theater student. She walked off as something far bigger: the first out lesbian ever to claim the crown — and a woman determined to rewrite what the pageant stands for.
Richardson was crowned in Wolverhampton on November 21, an unexpected jolt of electricity through a competition that has spent decades clinging to traditional beauty-queen expectations. On Thursday, she told CNN the victory feels “incredibly empowering,” the kind of validation that comes only after years of quietly fighting to belong.
“It’s proved to me that with resilience and determination you really can achieve your dreams,” she said — a line delivered not with pageant polish, but with the raw steadiness of someone who has lived it.
Richardson revealed she had considered leaving one detail out during her Miss England journey: her sexuality. Coming out hadn’t been easy, and she wasn’t sure the pageant world was ready for it. But when the judges asked about overcoming challenges, her truth walked into the room before she did.
“The first thing that crossed my mind was my coming out story,” she said. “It’s a big part of my past. It’s what made me who I am.”
She knew the moment she spoke it aloud, everything would change — for her, and maybe for the entire competition. That was the point.
“Sexuality has no direct relevance to my role as Miss England,” Richardson said. “But by talking about it openly, maybe the idea of a gay woman wearing this crown will finally become normal.”
There it is — the quiet revolution. No protest signs, no shouting. Just a young woman standing on a stage, refusing to shrink because her truth might make someone uncomfortable.
Richardson said she hopes her honesty sparks something in the next generation of girls watching from the wings — the ones who haven’t yet learned to hide the brightest pieces of themselves.
Now the newly crowned Miss England moves on to the global stage. Next year, she’ll compete in the Miss World pageant, carrying not just a country’s crown, but the weight — and the fire — of her own story.
