THE newly crowned Miss Great Britain is fighting to challenge bereavement leave rights in the workplace after losing both of her parents by the age of 18.
Alice Cutler, who grew up in Ringwood, was recently crowned Miss Great Britain at the finals which took place on October 17.
Alice Cutler (Image: Alice Cutler)
She described the process as a ‘surreal experience’, and is now keen to use her platform to campaign for the legal right for employees to be paid bereavement leave.
By the age of 18, Alice had lost both her parents, losing her father at the age of nine and her mother in a car accident ten years ago.
Following the death of her parents, she discovered that employees have no legal rights to bereavement leave and created her campaign called Time to Grieve.
READ MORE: Miss London campaigns for bereavement leave after losing parents at 18
Alice revealed that before her mother’s passing in 2015, she accompanied her to a competition and being awarded the crown ten years later feels like a nod to them.
After taking a break and not thinking about pageants for many years, Alice began to enter into multiple competitions before returning for 2025.
She said: “I was desperate to go back.
“I really valued the platform it gave me to talk about bereavement.
“As someone who has been through a lot of grief, I have spoken to a lot of people with experiences of bereavement leave.”
This year, the competition celebrated its eightieth anniversary, with Alice creating more history by being the first qualified lawyer and redhead to have won, as well as being the first person from Hampshire to win since 1974.
Alice said that this year’s competition was ‘an incredible thing to be apart of’, adding that it was a way to keep her parents with her since her mother attended the 2015 competition.
She said: “For me it has been a real celebration and a way to keep my parents with me this year.”
Talking more on her campaign, Alice stated that she started a petition in December 2024, calling on government action to address paid bereavement leave.
Despite receiving acknowledgement from the government, the petition did not receive enough support.
She said: “It’s just about keeping up the momentum that we’ve built.”
“I hope I can use this title to open doors and encourage these conversations.”
Alice added that you’re still able to experience ‘incredible’ things, despite going though hardships and loss.
She said: “Life’s storms don’t have to break you, they can build you.
“You’re life can still be amazing, even when you face awful hardships.
“You can go on and experience incredible things.”