Richard Branson has paid an emotional tribute to his late wife Joan, on what would have been her 81st birthday.
The Virgin boss, 75, announced the death of his wife Joan, aged 80, in November last year following complications from a back injury she obtained as a result of a fall.
Richard shared a poignant throwback photo of Joan during her younger days while she was dancing with a pal.
He sweetly captioned the post: ‘Today would have been Joan’s 81st birthday. Keep dancing in the stars. We love you.’
Richard and Joan married in 1989, and they share three children, Sam, Holly and Clare Sarah, who sadly died at just four days old.
It was revealed in May that Joan died from a blood clot two weeks after a fall, a coroner has heard.
Richard Branson has paid an emotional tribute to his late wife Joan, as he shared a poignant throwback snap of her on what would have been her 81st birthday
Joan passed away at The Lister Hospital on November 24, 2025, following complications from a back injury she obtained as a result of a fall.
A pre-inquest hearing has heard her family, most notably Richard and their children are not looking to apportion blame over the death.
A full inquest into her death will be held in September this year.
It is expected to examine whether Joan should have been prescribed blood thinners if she was also wearing anti-clot stockings, the Mirror reports.
Speaking at the hearing at Inner West London Coroners’ Court, Holly said: ‘I believe mum had great care. The doctors saved her life three years ago, giving us all three more years together.
‘We just want to help other families if there are any lessons to be learned.’
Senior Coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox told the court that expert witnesses will testify as to whether prescribing Lady Branson the anti-coagulant Heparin could have prevented her death.
Joan had a history of blood clots, the court heard, going back at least as far as 2010.
The Virgin boss announced the death of his wife Joan, aged 80, in November last year following complications from a back injury she obtained as a result of a fall
Then in 2018, she awoke one morning to find her leg three times the size it usually was.
After rushing to hospital, she and Richard were informed that she had a series of blood clots from her ankle to her groin, in one of the worst cases doctors had seen.
Lady Branson was prescribed Warfarin and given compression stockings, but was warned she remained at risk of a ‘major pulmonary embolism’.
She had urgent surgery to install an umbrella structure in her leg, which prevented any of the clots from entering her lungs.
At the time of Joan’s death, her husband, Virgin tycoon Richard, was in the same hospital as her, having injured his shoulder in a bike accident in India.
Sharing the news last year, he said: ‘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.’
He later added Joan died ‘quickly and painlessly’, and that he had shared lunch with her on the day of her death.
Holly also shared an emotional tribute to her late mother as she reflected on the ‘initial shock and pain’ of her passing, describing her as ‘one in a billion, brilliant and kind’.
Posting photos with Joan throughout her childhood, Holly said she and her family ‘feel very loved’ following an outpouring of sympathies in the wake of her mother’s passing.
The family held a beachfront gathering for friends and family to remember her at his 74-acre private estate on Necker Island, in the British Virgin Islands.
Richard and Glasgow-born Joan first met in 1976 at The Manor, a former recording studio in Oxfordshire, England.
At the time, the former model was working in an antiques shop in Notting Hill, not far from the Virgin office.
