Sir Richard Branson’s wife Joan dies: ‘Heartbroken’ Virgin tycoon pays tribute to his ‘best friend’ after she passed away
Sir Richard Branson announced the death of his beloved wife of 50 years, Lady Joan.
Announcing his death on social media, Virgin’s boss wrote: ‘I am deeply saddened to share that Joan, my wife and partner of 50 years, has passed away.
‘She was the most wonderful mother and grandmother our children and grandchildren could ever ask for.
‘He was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world. I will love you forever Joan x’
Lady Joan, who has two children with Sir Richard, has long been referred to as the billionaire’s ‘rock’ and ‘fountain of wisdom’.
In a post yesterday, the day he died, the virgin businessman published a photo of himself kissing his wife’s head and said: ‘Everyone needs a Joan in their life.’
Lady Joan was thought to be in good health after Sir Richard paid tribute to her on social media as she celebrated her 80th birthday this summer.
‘Thank you for being with me throughout this process, the ups, the downs and all the quiet, happy and peaceful moments in between. “These are the moments I cherish the most with you, I love you more every year,” she wrote on Facebook in July.
Sir Richard Branson announced today that his beloved wife of 50 years, Joan, has died.
In a post yesterday, the day he died, the virgin businessman published a photo of himself kissing his wife’s head and said: ‘Everyone needs a Joan in their life.’
Couple on their wedding day on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands
The couple was looking forward to celebrating their 50th anniversary on February 7, just a few months later.
They met at Virgin Records’ live recording studio The Manor in 1976, where the businessman said he ‘fell in love’ with her at first sight.
He previously revealed how he was captivated by the ‘beautiful, witty, down-to-earth’ woman when he visited the studio in West London.
He remembers how he started courting her after finding out she worked at a nearby place.
In a blog celebrating his 70th birthday in 2015, Sir Richard said: ‘I fell in love with her from the first moment I saw her while working in a knick-knack shop in Westbourne Grove, London.
‘Joan, the blonde-haired, down-to-earth, no-nonsense Scottish beauty, was unlike any woman I’d ever met.
‘To win her heart, I had to persistently wander around the store and buy countless objects before starting the courtship….’
He signed the blog: ‘As the saying goes, behind every man there is a great woman.
‘Joan, you are the most wonderful woman ever. Happy birthday and thank you for choosing to go on this adventure with me.’
The first picture of Richard and Joan. Lady Joan, who has two children with Sir Richard, has long been called the billionaire’s ‘rock’
Sir Richard shared this photo of Lady Joan on his social media accounts
Lady Joan was thought to be in good health when she celebrated her 80th birthday this summer
Sir Richard photographed with Lady Joan and their daughter Holly in 2003
Photo of the couple at a charity dinner at Harrods in 1996
Celebrating their wedding anniversary in a later blog in 2020, she added: ‘Far beyond the record names, I owe so much to Joan….Joan has always been a steady source of wisdom and has played no small part in some of my better life decisions.’
The couple married 11 years after they first met on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands in 1989, when their two children, Holly and Sam, were eight and four.
Despite her husband’s fame, Lady Joan was a very private person from the beginning, willing to avoid the public eye and rarely giving interviews.
She has been described as the ‘most amazing mother’ to her children and the ‘perfect grandmother’ to her three grandchildren, Artie, Etta and Eva-Deia.
Joan Templman was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1948. He had humble beginnings, with his father working as a ship carpenter to support himself and his six siblings.
