Thailand on Sunday night welcomed a new beauty queen. Tharina “Khanom” Botes, a Thai-South African contestant representing Bangkok, was crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2026 at MGI HALL on the sixth floor of BRAVO BKK shopping centre.
Botes’ victory marks another chapter in a pageant career spanning more than a decade. Born to a Thai mother and South African father, she began competing in pageants in South Africa before representing that country at Miss International 2016 and becoming a finalist at Miss South Africa 2018.