A Spanish model has made history as the first transgender woman to compete in the annual Miss Universe competition.

It was first announced that Angela Ponce would be participating in the international beauty pageant in June 2018.

While the 27-year-old wasn’t awarded the crown on Sunday 16 December, which ultimately went to Miss Philippines Catriona Gray, she explained that the significance of taking part was far more important than winning the top prize.

Stunning viral pictures show Angela, who was born in Pilas, Seville, on the 18th January 1991, enjoying amazing skiing holidays with pals in Switzerland, Malaga, and Catalonia last year alone.

The model kicked off the year with a break in Paris, visiting Disneyland, the Louvre museum, Cathédrale Notre-Dame, a Moulin Rouge show and Le Palais de Versailles. Ponce narrowly missed out on reaching the top 20 of the competition.

The Miss Universe organization paid tribute to the model by screening a special video montage in her honor at the pageant in Bangkok, Thailand.

Following the video montage, Ponce was met with a standing ovation as she took to the runway.

As she made her way down the catwalk, she removed her Spain sash, holding it aloft in the air with pride.

Many people have been praising the model following her groundbreaking appearance at the pageant, thanking her for representing the transgender community.

Posting a snap as she posed on a boat in Tarragona next to the Spanish flag, she made her intentions clear, writing: ‘Bringing the name and colors of Spain before the Universe is my great dream.

The Spanish beauty has shared her struggle to be accepted in the beauty world, slamming former owner of the competition Donald Trump after a leaked White House report showed his administration is considering pushing changes to the law to define gender by biological traits at birth while trying to block transgender people from military service.