This is NOT a drill! The Miss Universe crown has been ROBBED

Ah, the classic beauty pageant.

We all know the drill by now: the beautiful models, the glitzy dresses, the sashes, the super awkward if not creepy hosts, the horrendous talent portion and of course the crowning of the winner as she weeps delicately. 

So what happens when you accidently lose the crown? Well, this was the mare faced by the organisers of the Miss Universe Ireland pageant which is taking place tomorrow. 

The headpiece, which is specifically commissioned by a company in the US, was reportedly stolen from the studio of the pageant organiser, Evan Doherty. Uh oh!

"The crown was left in my studio and someone broke in and grabbed it. So there’s someone walking around Dublin now with a very nice looking piece." 

The pageant was inevitably thrown into absolute chaos and Evan had no choice but to get in touch with the American company in order to request an emergency crown. 

Well, you can all breathe a sigh of relief because the company arranged for a replica headpiece to arrive just in time for the grand final. What good luck! 

The trauma sounds remarkably similar to a curious incident that befell another prestigious Irish event, the Miss Ireland pageant, back in 2011. According to reports, the crown also went missing the day before the pageant following a photo shoot. 

The missing crown miraculously turned up the next day, just in time for the final. 

The winner of tomorrow's pageant will go on to represent Ireland in the Miss Universe pageant taking place in Las Vegas in December. 

Twenty-two girls will be vying to impress the judges who include Irish model Roz Purcell in order to win a seemingly endless supply of beauty products, a modelling contract and the opportunity to represent Ireland in Vegas. 

And she will, thank goodness, have a crown.