Beauty Queen discovers she's related to Princess Diana

A Miss Great Britain contender was shocked to find out she is a distant relative of Princess Diana.

Niamh Gwen, who is from Kirkby, found out she was related to the late Princess of Wales's great grandmother after her mum looked into their family's history using a genealogy website.

The 24-year-old said she was shocked when her mum told her about the connection to the Royal Family.

"My mum said 'no way we are descendants of royalty' and I was just like 'are you joking me, we are not royal'," she said.

The social media manager is also aiming for a crown and hopes to win the title of Miss Great Britain at the final in October.

Niamh, who is from Chorley, has already been crowned as Miss Preston five years ago. She said she started entering pageants as she struggled with lack of confidence and social anxiety.

She said: "I just did it for confidence as I was becoming a teacher, because I had absolutely no confidence whatsoever. I was the most socially awkward." She added: "I struggled with eye contact, panic attacks all the time.

"I just needed to do something completely out of my comfort zone and it was the best thing I have ever done. I wasn't bothered about winning but it was something to talk about and people would find it interesting. It would give me a bit of a talking point.

"That was the main reason I did it, I didn't expect to win or go on to anything." Niamh is also keen to raise awareness of what the Miss Great Britain competition does for the community and charities.

The Miss Great Britain event is an annual, national beauty pageant that has been crowning winners since 1945. Every year the competition attracts a mix of independent and empowered women, giving them the platform to showcase their brand and the causes they support.