Sir Richard Branson has shared the sad news of the passing of his wife, Lady Joan, to whom he had been married for five decades.

In a heartfelt message on social media, the founder of Virgin Group expressed his sorrow, saying, “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years.”

He went on to praise her as “the most wonderful mum and grandmum” that their children and grandchildren could have ever hoped for.

Sir Richard described Lady Joan as his “best friend, rock, guiding light,” and concluded with, “Love you forever, Joan x.”

Lady Joan, who shared two children with Sir Richard, was often recognized as his steadfast support and a source of wisdom throughout his life.

In a post yesterday, the day of her death, the Virgin tycoon posted a photograph, showing him kissing his wife’s head and the words: ‘Everyone needs a Joan in their life.’

Lady Joan was thought to be in good health when she celebrated her 80th birthday this summer, with Sir Richard paying tribute to her on his social media.

‘Thank you for being by my side through it all – the highs, the lows, and all those quiet, content and peaceful moments in between. These are the moments I cherish most with you, I love you more and more each year,’ he wrote on Facebook in July.

Sir Richard Branson today announced the death of Joan, his beloved wife of 50 years 

In a post yesterday, the day of her death, the Virgin tycoon posted a photograph, showing him kissing his wife’s head and the words: ‘Everyone needs a Joan in their life’

The couple on their wedding day on Necker Island on the British Virgin Islands

The couple had been looking forward to celebrating their 50th anniversary in just a few months on February 7.

They had met in 1976 at The Manor, a live-in recording studio for Virgin Records, where the business magnate said he ‘fell in love’ with her at first sight.

He has previously revealed how he was taken in by the ‘beautiful, witty, down-to-earth’ woman when she visited the studio in West London.

After finding out that she worked at a nearby, he recalls how he set about wooing her.

In a 2015 blog celebrating her 70th birthday, Sir Richard said: ‘I fell in love with her from the first moment I saw her, while she worked in a bric-a-brac shop in Westbourne Grove, in London.

‘A blonde-haired, down to earth, Scottish beauty who didn’t suffer fools, Joan was unlike any other women I had ever met.

‘To win her heart, I had to persistently hang around the shop and buy countless objects before we started courting….’

He signed off the blog: ‘As the saying goes, behind every man there’s a great woman.

‘Joan you are the greatest woman of all. Happy birthday and thank you for choosing to come on this adventure with me.’

The earliest picture of Richard and Joan. Lady Joan, who shares two children with Sir Richard, has long been credited as 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 pictured with Lady Joan and their daughter Holly in 2003

The couple pictured in 1996 during a charity dinner at Harrods

Sir Richard and Lady Joan pictured at the engagement party of Holly Branson to Fred Andrews in 2011

The couple pictured in 1991. Their relationship spanned more than four decades

In a later blog in 2020, marking their wedding anniversary, he added: ‘Far beyond record titles, I owe a lot 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 pair were wed 11 years after first meeting in 1989 on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands when their two children, Holly and Sam, were eight and four.

Lady Joan was from the beginning, despite her husband’s fame, a very private person, keen to avoid the public eye and rarely gave an interview.

She was described as the ‘most amazing mother’ to her children as well as the ‘perfect grandmother’ to her three grandchildren, Artie, Etta and Eva-Deia.

In 2016, Sir Richard revealed how he only bought Necker Island in a bid to impress Joan after he managed to wangle an all-expenses paid trip to see the idyllic retreat in the late Seventies.

Writing in a love letter to his wife as the couple celebrated their 40th anniversary together almost a decade ago, the Virgin boss said he put an offer of $100,000 on the up-for-sale island in a bid to impress then girlfriend Joan – despite knowing Necker’s owner expected much more for it.

Born Joan Templman in Glasgow, Scotland in 1948, she had hailed from humble beginnings with her father working as a ship carpenter to support her and her six siblings.