Beyonce has compared fame to being in prison.

The 43-year-old pop superstar - who has three children with her rapper husband Jay Z - works hard to protect her family's privacy and confessed she disappears from the spotlight whenever she doesn't have a work project to promote because she won't sacrifice her "peace" for any amount of money.

She told GQ magazine: "One thing I’ve worked extremely hard on is making sure my kids can have as much normalcy and privacy as possible, ensuring my personal life isn’t turned into a brand.

"It’s very easy for celebrities to turn our lives into performance art. I have made an extreme effort to stay true to my boundaries and protect myself and my family. No amount of money is worth my peace."

She went on to add she finds solace in making music and launching her SirDavis Whisky brand, but being famous is tough to deal with.

Beyonce explained: "Working on the music for [album] 'Cowboy Carter' and launching this exciting new [drinks]project feel nothing like prison, nor a burden.

" In fact, I only work on what liberates me. It is fame that can at times feel like prison. So, when you don’t see me on red carpets, and when I disappear until I have art to share, that’s why."

Beyonce also insisted she builds her work schedule around her kids - Blue Ivy, 12, and six-year-old twins, Rumi and Sir - to make sure she spends as much time with them as possible.

She said: "I build my work schedule around my family. I try to only tour when my kids are out of school. I always dreamt of a life where I could see the world with my family and expose them to different languages, architecture, and lifestyles.

"Raising three kids isn’t easy. The older they get, the more they become their own individuals with unique needs, hobbies, and social lives. My twins are God-sent.

"Parenting constantly teaches you about yourself. It takes a lot of prayer and patience. I love it. It’s grounding and fulfilling.

My kids come with me everywhere I go. They come to my office after school, and they are in the studio with me. They are in dance rehearsals ... "