[ ClassicalX ] Battle of the divas

Battle of the divas: Katherine Jenkins and Hayley Westenra go head to head for prized role of Forces Favourite

She’s sung for British troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cyprus – and even for Chelsea pensioners.

But glamorous blonde mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins is losing her role as the Forces Sweetheart to a young New Zealand-born singer, Hayley Westenra.

Ms Westenra, 22, will top the bill at the Royal British Legion’s annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on November 7, replacing Ms Jenkins, who has performed at the prestigious concert for the past five years.

It is the latest in a series of upheavals in the Welsh singer’s career.
Just before last year’s Festival of Remembrance, Ms Jenkins, 29, revealed that she had taken cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis as a teenager.

She also left her Universal record label to sign a £6million deal with Warner Music in a bid to crack the American market.

And last month, she parted from her manager of six years, Brian Lane. Their lawyers are in talks to work out a settlement.

A source close to Ms Jenkins said that she believed as recently as two months ago that she would be appearing as usual in front of the Queen and a television audience of millions at the British Legion concert.

Ms Westenra, who has been a staunch supporter of Forces’ charities since she shot to fame as a singer six years ago, has also been recruited by the British Legion to be the face of this year’s Poppy Appeal.

Ms Jenkins has had an eventful involvement with British Forces. In an interview in today’s Live magazine, she admits she believed that she was going to die when an RAF helicopter in which she was travelling over Iraq was hit by a ground-to-air missile.

‘I was on my way to perform for the troops when suddenly there was this incredibly loud noise and the helicopter just dropped out of the sky,’ she says

‘I thought, “This is it...I’m done.” But somehow the pilot landed.’

In Afghanistan she was unknowingly put in danger when her helicopter was used as a decoy for another aircraft carrying the head of the Ministry of Defence.

Ms Westenra, who last year travelled to Basra to perform for British troops, has a deeply personal interest in the work of the British Legion, thanks to a long family tradition of wartime service.

Her great-uncle, Squadron Leader Jerry Westenra, was one of the bravest RAF aces of the Second World War, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and bar in dogfights with the Luftwaffe and the Italian air force over Greece, North Africa and France.

Hayley said: ‘Jerry is someone to be incredibly proud of. But in October 2007, I took part in the 90th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Passchendaele and discovered one of my great-great-uncles had been killed on the front line.

‘I found the name of Private Frederick Alan Westenra of Canterbury, New Zealand, on one of the plaques at the Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Memorial in Ypres.

'From that point onwards, I became keen to support the Armed Forces wherever and whenever possible. To appear at this year’s Festival of Remembrance is such a great honour.’

Russell Thompson, the British Legion’s director of national events and fundraising, said: ‘Katherine has been a tremendous supporter for many years and continues to be.

‘This year, we have a different show with different performers but we’re certainly looking forward to working with Katherine again in the future.’

A spokesman for 29-year-old Ms Jenkins said of the Festival of Remembrance: ‘She’s done it for the past five years, more than any other person. Now she wants to let other people perform.’

Source: Daily Mail