Miss Intercontinental 2017 first runner-up Katarina Rodriguez gave her best to earn the pageant’s crown but fell short to Mexico contestant Veronica Salas Vallejo.

In an Instagram post, Rodriguez reflected that she wouldn’t “have done anything differently.”

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“I can tell you that after rewatching the coronation last night I can confidently say I was FLAWLESS,” she said, citing that “dozens of people” were supporting her for the win.

“This crown to me represented my becoming a real woman,” she shared.

But even if it wasn’t bestowed on her, Rodriguez still found a moment where she felt she had grown into a full woman: When she had to give the crown to Miss Mexico after it fell from her head.

“How could I not say it was such a painful thing for me to do?” she mused.

“But when giving the crown to her I swear to you there was this energy that went through her and straight to me and this is where I knew I am no longer a child but a woman,” the model-beauty queen said.

Just a hair’s breadth from the title, she accepted that Vallejo had rightfully earned it. “I felt PROUD for her, and no pain at all. It was the lightest feeling I have felt in weeks.”

“Vero is a queen and she is MY queen, MY Miss Intercontinental 2017,” she declared.

Netizens showered praise on the beauty queen for her grace, with many reassuring her that she had brought pride to the country and that she spoke like a queen. Others also encouraged her to join more pageants such as Miss World Philippines and Reina Hispanoamericana.

The Davao beauty also brought the Philippines to the spotlight in cycle 2 of “Asia’s Next Top Model” where she made it to third place. /ra

Malaysian wins big, 2 Filipinos runners-up in Asia’s Next Top Model