Richard Branson has shared his heartache as he announced the death of his beloved wife, Joan Templeman.
The businessman, 75, shared in a personal Instagram post on Tuesday: "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."
The couple had been married since 1989, having wed on Necker Island and they went on to welcome three children together – Holly, Sam and the late Clare Sarah, who died at just four days old after being born three months prematurely.
Holly and her husband, Freddie Andrewes, have three children – Etta, Artie and Lola – while Sam and his wife, Isabella, have daughter Eva-Deia and son Bluey.
The sad announcement comes a day after Richard posted a throwback photo with Joan, showing the Virgin CEO punching the air, with Joan smiling as she embraced her husband.
"Love this photo of Joan," Richard captioned the image.
A week ago, he also shared a picture of Joan dressed in a black ruffled dress and a blazer, smiling at the camera, as Richard kissed her head. "Everyone needs a Joan in their life," he said. "Behind every man there's a great woman."
'Behind every man there's a great woman'
In a tribute post to mark Joan's 70th birthday in 2015, Richard penned a personal tribute to his wife in a blog post on Virgin's website.
"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, he wrote. "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."
Richard went on to describe Joan as "my rock, my confidant and my guiding light," adding: "As the saying goes, behind every man there's a great woman."
Family tributes
Joan's heartbroken son, Sam, shared a carousel of heartwarming snaps as he paid tribute to the "kindest, most loving, warm and abundantly generous woman".
His Instagram post included pictures from his childhood, including sun-soaked family holidays, as well as more recent photographs of Sam kissing his mother on the cheek.
"Mum you instantly made everyone in your presence feel like all was well with the world," he wrote. "You were the kindest, most loving, warm and abundantly generous woman to walk this Earth. Thank you for all that you were to me, our family and to everyone who was blessed by your graceful, loving presence.
"I am so deeply grateful to have had the privilege of being your son and being able to call you mum. Words cannot express how much I will miss you and how I wish you were still here to console me about the loss of you. But somehow you are… and that is the magic of you. I love you to the moon and back. Forever and Ever."
