Pensioner claims to have the world’s biggest family tree after tracing 10,000 relatives

Did you spot today the news that pensioner Roy Blackmore, aged 83 and from Somerset, has traced more than 10,000 relatives and ancestors? He believes he has the world’s biggest family tree and is even related to William the Conqueror and the Queen.

According to the Daily Mail, he has discovered he is the Queen’s 22nd cousin once removed, after tracing his relatives back to AD 500. Mr Blackmore also found out that he has ties with Alfred the Great, after spending the last 60 years painstakingly working on his own family tree.

It all began when he was just 15 years old, when he wanted to learn more about his past after being orphaned aged seven. As a member of the Light Infantry in Taunton, he was asked to sort through some old photographs and amazingly discovered a picture of his father and uncle. He told the Daily Mail:

“It was unbelievable to find that photo and it is something which meant a lot to me at the time. But it wasn’t until the 1980s that I started to do something about finding out more about my family history. It’s been a very interesting journey and for me one of the most shocking discoveries was finding out that I am a descendant of Alfred the Great.”

Mr Blackmore is now getting in touch with the Guinness World Records to find out if he qualifies for holding the world record for the largest family tree. And if you’re fascinated by this story, you might be interested to know that Mr Blackmore plans to display his findings in Taunton Library.