Credit: Darren Britton/Wales News Service

Sophie Moulds was crowned the new Miss Wales for her poise, brains and looks, and those looks are strikingly similar to those of Britain's Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Moulds, 19, is a first-year student majoring in business at Cardiff University. Like Middleton, Moulds is 5-foot-10 and slender, with long dark hair and a bright smile.

Moulds is apparently delighted at the comparisons to the popular Middleton, 30, who married Britain's Prince William in a ceremony that was watched by millions of people around the world last April.

"It's a great honor. I was a bit shocked when people started saying I look like Kate," she said, according to the Daily Mail. "But I'm a huge fan of her. She is such a natural beauty and very stylish. I take it as a great compliment."

Moulds will represent Wales at the Miss World competition in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, in August.

The Ferndale resident was crowned April 14 in Cardiff. She was among 47 competitors.

"I am so pleased to win and I'm really looking forward to going to Miss World," Moulds said in a statement posted on the Miss Wales website. "I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends, family and sponsor. I hope that through my year I can inspire other young girls in the valleys to aim high and chase their dreams."