Katherine Jenkins says her children must know Welsh roots

Katherine Jenkins and husband Andrew Levitas have two children, Aaliyah, 10, and Xander, six

Singer Katherine Jenkins says it is important her children know what it means to be Welsh.

The mezzo-soprano from Neath, Port Talbot, lives in New York with husband Andrew Levitas and two children Aaliyah, 10, and Xander, six.

Jenkins said she brings them to Wales "as often as possible" to help them identify with their Welsh roots.

"I want them to feel all of the nature that we were so lucky to grow up with, all of the music," she said.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales' Books That Made Me, she recalled the happy time her family spent in Pembrokeshire this summer, enjoying the coast and having fish and chips on the beach, which Katherine described as "amazing".

With her children at school in the US, Jenkins said she makes sure they pull out all the stops on St David's Day.

"I go into school, Aaliyah and I dress up as Welsh ladies, I cook the Welsh cakes, and I take in the love spoons," she said.

"That's definitely something that is very, very important to me that they maintain their Welshness."

Jenkins said she thought her children may have inherited her love of music and performing.

She said she can "hear parts of the singing" in her son, even though at the moment, he is having electric guitar lessons because "he wants to be a rock star".

Her daughter Aaliyah has a passion for performing and does dance recitals and musical theatre shows.

'Wales is what drives me'

"I personally think I wouldn't be here today without growing up in south Wales, where I had school choirs, church choirs, national choir of Wales, it was my steadfast," said Jenkins.

"When you do go and do something outside of Wales, you feel like you have this amazing community behind you, supporting you and cheering you on.

"That's why I feel so so proud of where I'm from, why I really want to fly the flag."

Jenkins has been juggling motherhood with an international singing career and running her own gin business.

She said her priority at the moment is her children, even if it means saying no to tempting work opportunities.

Exports of her Welsh gin, made at a Swansea distillery, have been launched in Dubai, Singapore, Italy, and it will land in the US this autumn.

Jenkins said it is her drive to fly the flag for Wales that motivates her.

"I want to educate people about Wales, and I feel a responsibility to do that.

"So it's been a passion project for me. It's like having another baby."

Jenkins said her family had always enjoyed a gin, but she was not supposed to drink it because it's too harsh on the voice.

"I come from a family of women who loved gin and tonics, so this was mortifying news," she said.

So during the pandemic, with her husband, she created a tipple that she could drink without damaging her voice.

She said working with her husband was "fun", and they have managed to avoid any arguments.

Although the gin did make for a funny moment in school when her daughter wrote a project recently about her family.

"Instead of mentioning anything to do with music or film, she wrote, 'my mummy and daddy make gin and tonics'."

"This went up on the wall in school, I felt like I had to go in and explain, I do do other things as well in our house," said Jenkins.