The reigning Miss England has reached the Miss World final after becoming the first British beauty queen to win the competition's talent round in its 75-year history.Grace Richardson, 23, is currently competing at the prestigious beauty pageant in Vietnam after becoming the first openly gay Miss England winner.The performing arts graduate from Leicester beat 111 other contestants to become the first Miss England ever to win the Miss World Talent round, fast-tracking her to the final.She sang her way into the history books this week after stunning judges and fans with her moving rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow - an 'extraordinary' achievement considering Grace was born with a condition known as tongue-tie. The beauty queen's proud mother Alyson said the award represents Grace's 'determination and resilience' after overcoming ankyloglossia, which restricts the movement of the tongue. 'She has had to work incredibly hard to find different ways to form sounds, words and musical notes,' Alyson said. 'That makes this recognition feel even more extraordinary to us.The musical theatre student, who was crowned Miss England, last November said it feels 'incredibly special to be recognised' for her talent, adding: 'I can't wait to see what the next two weeks bring, knowing I'm already through to the top 40.'I'm just going to enjoy every moment and continue to give it my all representing England.' The reigning Miss England has reached the Miss World final after becoming the first British beauty queen to win the competition's talent round in its 75-year history Grace Richardson, 23, (centre) is currently competing at the prestigious beauty pageant in Vietnam after becoming the first openly gay Miss England winnerAlyson, who is in Vietnam supporting the beauty queen, said 'singing' was initially difficult for Grace. 'Grace has been humming and dancing for as long as we can remember, even before she could properly walk or talk. But singing and speech have never come easily to her,' she revealed. 'Grace was born with ankyloglossia, commonly known as tongue-tie, which restricts the movement of the tongue.'As her parents, we couldn't be prouder. This award means so much because it feels like recognition not just of Grace's talent, but of her resilience, determination and all the hard work she has put in to overcome the challenges along the way.Miss England Director Angie Beasley said: 'This was the round Grace really wanted.'Performing is her passion and her ultimate dream is to appear on a West End stage.'She wasn't sure whether to sing or dance after injuring her ankle last year, especially with such a high standard of talent in the competition.'But Grace went out there, gave it everything and sang her heart out – and it paid off. We couldn't be prouder of her.'The competition has not had a British winner since 1983 and Grace has previously said it would be 'absolutely incredible' to bring the Miss World crown to England. Grace, who is the first openly gay Miss England, reacting after she won the talent round at the ongoing Miss World competition in Vietnam Grace opened up about enduring relentless bullying at her school when she came out at the age of 15, while reflecting on 'achieving my dreams' despite the naysayers. After she was crowned Miss England at a ceremony in Wolverhampton, Grace shared: 'So I was 15 when I came out. It was just after Covid and my peers at school just really weren't very nice to me, which definitely took a bit of a toll on my mental health.'I used to get picked on for countless things: being too skinny, being really short and then becoming really tall.'It's almost like everything I did was wrong.'So it's nice being able to stand up now and say, "Look at what I've done."'I've ignored everything negative that they said to me, and actually I've gone on to achieve my dreams.'The 75th Miss World final takes place on September 5 in Nha Trang, Vietnam.