FOR the first time in the Miss Universe's 66-year history, there is a transgender contestant in the competition.

Angela Ponce, who is Miss Spain, will be making history as she takes part in the finals of the beauty pageant in Bangkok, Thailand on Monday.

The pageant changed one of its longstanding policies in 2012, which stated that participants should be "naturally born" women.

Angela, 27, says that by taking part she hopes to highlight how misunderstood the transgender community is, and she also intends to send a message to Donald Trump.

Angela particularly wants to raise awareness about the high rates of suicide within the community, and said: "Who hasn't suffered from prejudice? Who hasn't had to deal with bullying?"

The timing of her participation is particularly poignant, as a recent leaked White House document said President Trump's administration is considering blocking transgender people from military service.

The report also said they may push changes to the law to define gender by biological traits at birth.