Beyonce's family tree reveals her slave ancestor married her owner

Beyonce's family tree stretching back to her great-great-great grandmother in 1800s Louisiana has shown that the singing superstar is descended from slaves

Then she drops a fascinating bombshell: ‘I researched my ancestry recently and learned I come from a slave owner who fell in love with and married a slave.’

It was a remarkable discovery, one the Mail has investigated further and found that she is indeed descended from slaves.

We have traced Beyonce’s family tree back to 1800 and found her great-great-great grandmother, a black slave called Rosalie Jean Louis who was born that year.

According to U.S. records, she escaped from a terrible life of slavery by marrying Joseph Lacey, a well-off white American merchant. The fact he owned slaves has not been confirmed by historical records.

However, given the widespread prevalence of slave ownership among the population of Louisiana at the time and his relative wealth, this could certainly be the love match between a slave owner and a slave to which Beyonce referred in her interview.

One record shows that Rosalie’s own mother was also likely to have been a slave called Louis Mary Jean, who was not even given a surname by her slave master.

Sadly, no picture of Rosalie or Joseph has survived. However, we do know that in 1830 they had a daughter, Celestine Josephine Lacey.

Known to her family as ‘Tine’, she grew up to be a handsome woman with the same striking eyes as Beyonce.