Britney Spears, far from being as American as apple pie, apparently has her roots firmly in North London - Tottenham, to be precise.

Records show that the great-grandparents of the singer, pictured, were Londoners and like their 26-year-old descendant - just as prone to scandal.

Details of her ancestors in the London Metropolitan Archives reveal that her great-grandparents probably 'lived in sin' before they got around to getting married.

The 26-year-old star, who made a triumphant return at the MTV Video Music Awards this week, is descended from George Anthony Portell and Lillian Esther Lewis.

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Britney Spurs: A British archive has revealed Britney's family originally hail from London's, Tottenham. A mocked-up image shows the singer in a Tottenham Hotspur football shirt

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Parish records show they married at St John's Church in Tottenham in 1923, but they both gave the same address on the marriage certificate, indicating they were already living together  -  a scandal at the time.

The couple had a daughter, Britney's grandmother Lillian Woolmore-Portell, who married US Navy sailor Barnett O'Field Bridges in London during the Second World War.

They moved to a farm near New Orleans and had three children, including Miss Spears's mother Lynne.

Britney's secret will be on show when the archives go online  -  with the records of more than 77m people available.

Laurence Ward, head of digital resources at the archives, said there could be an innocent explanation.

He said: 'Her great-grandparents have certainly listed the same address in the records for their marriage.

'But as her great-grandfather is recorded as being an able seaman, he may have been away with the Navy a lot. They could have recorded the same address for convenience.'