Sir Richard Branson hinted at the death of his beloved wife Lady Joan just days before he announced her death on social media.
In a touching post on Monday, the Virgin boss shared a blast from the past photo of himself with his partner of 50 years, captioning the image: ‘Love this photo of Joan.’
Just over a day later on Tuesday afternoon, Sir Richard uploaded another photo of his wife and wrote: ‘Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away.
‘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.’
It comes as emotional footage of the pair getting married on Necker Island in 1989 has come back to light.
The pair 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.
Lady Joan, 80, who shares two children with Sir Richard, has long been credited as the billionaire’s ‘rock’ and ‘source of wisdom’.
In a post last month, the Virgin tycoon posted a photograph, showing him kissing his wife’s head and the words: ‘Everyone needs a Joan in their life.’
On Monday, Sir Richard Branson shared a photo of himself with his partner of 50 years Lady Joan, captioning the image: ‘Love this photo of Joan’
Sir Richard shared this photo of Lady Joan on his social media accounts to announce his wife’s death just over a day later
Sir Richard announced the death of Joan, his beloved wife of 50 years, yesterday
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, having met in 1976.
The business magnate 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.’
