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Joan Templeman, the wife of Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, has died.
The couple, who married in 1989, have two children, Sam and Holly. Another daughter, Clare Sarah, was born in 1979 but lived for just four days.
Announcing his wife’s death on social media on Tuesday evening, Sir Richard described her as his “best friend” and “guiding light”.
“Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,” the 75-year-old wrote.
“She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for.
“She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world.
“Love you forever, Joan x.”
The announcement comes a day after Sir Richard posted a photo of himself and his wife on Instagram with the caption “Love this photo of Joan”.
The throwback photo shows Sir Richard punching the air, with Joan smiling beside him.
Earlier in November, he also shared a picture of Joan dressed in a black dress and a blazer.
She was seen smiling at the camera while Sir Richard kissed her head.
“Everyone needs a Joan in their life,” the caption said.
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Sir Richard Branson (third right) and his wife Joan Templeman (second right) posing for a family photo before setting out to climb Mont Blanc in the Alps (Joe Giddens/PA Wire)
In an article written for the Virgin website celebrating his wife’s 70th birthday, the entrepreneur previously said he fell in love with Joan “from the first moment I saw her”.
She was working in a bric-a-brac shop in London’s Westbourne Grove at the time.
Sir Richard recalled that he had to “persistently hang around the shop and buy countless objects”, including an old advertising sign, before the pair started to date.
Their relationship began in the mid-70s.
In the piece, the businessman said his wife was a “very private person” who had “always stood by me mentally, emotionally and spiritually”.
“As the saying goes, behind every man there’s a great woman,” he wrote.
