Why France, Europe need a Miss Universe, according to Iris Mittenaere

The world may be cheering her on, but the new Miss Universe queen is still in disbelief that the crown is hers.

Miss France Iris Mittenaere stood out from 86 beautiful ladies from all over the world to become the 65th Miss Universe.

During her post-pageant press conference on Monday, Mittenaere said that she touches the crown often, perhaps to make sure it's real.

"I was very surprised, you know I'm always touching the crown, I say 'oh my gosh, I have the crown on my head,'" she said.

She added that every step that brought her closer to the crown was a surprise to her.

"Every step was a surprise, I wanted to cry at every step, I feel blessed," she said.

Mittenaere' Miss Universe victory was the second for France, the last winner having been crowned in 1953. She said she is honored to be the one to bring the title back to her country.

She is also the first winner from a Western European country since Norway's Mona Grudt in 1990.

"I think France and Europe really need a Miss Universe because there was a lot of time they didn't have... French people love beauty pageants. But they don't really know Miss Universe because we never win," she said.

"I'm very proud to bring this crown to Europe," she added. --JST, GMA News