Sir Richard Branson has shared the heartbreaking news of the passing of Lady Joan, his cherished wife of five decades.

Taking to social media, the Virgin Group founder announced the sad news, saying, “I am heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away.”

He continued, “She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our children and grandchildren could have ever hoped for.”

“She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world. Love you forever, Joan,” he added with a heartfelt closing.

Lady Joan, who had two children with Sir Richard, was often described as the billionaire’s steadfast support and a source of wisdom.

On the day of her passing, Branson posted a touching photo of himself gently kissing his wife’s forehead, accompanied by 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.

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.

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

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.’

Sir Richard shared this photo of Lady Joan on his social media accounts 

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.

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.