Anneline Kriel is all smiles as she places the Miss World crown on her successor's head at the Miss World 1975 pageant, but very few people are aware of the drama that took place behind the scenes. Let's just say that our blonde beauty was not on particularly good terms with her bosses at the Miss World Organisation towards the end of her reign.Earlier she had threatened to boycott the pageant, but after many harsh words and threats of legal action she stomped onto the stage to crown Wilnelia Merced from Puerto Rico. Her multi-coloured day dress for the coronation was a deliberate slap in the face of the Miss World Organisation and was deemed unsuitable given the occasion.
Her diva attitude was evident at a photo shoot in East London a year earlier where photographer, Paddy Hartdegen, had this to say about our future Miss World:
"Miss Kriel turned out to be one of the fussiest and most disappointing subjects I have ever had to photograph ... Nadine Horrman (6), walked across to Miss Kriel. A possible picture ... so I focused my camera and said: 'Why don't you give her a kiss or at least look a little bit friendly?' 'No,' Miss Kriel barked back. 'I won't.' Nadine looked startled ... I took one last picture of our contestant for the Miss World title and left. Bothered and bewildered, but not bewitched."
Definitely a case of from drama student to drama queen.