Richard Branson gave a heartbreaking update on his grief on Tuesday, following his wife Lady Joan Branson’s death aged 80 last month.
The Virgin magnate, 75, took to Instagram to share a duo of sweet images of the pair alongside a message thanking friends, fans and followers for their support.
In the touching message, Richard stated that his family ‘now just want to celebrate Joan and the wonderful life she lived’ and admitted he was ‘so fortunate’ to have met his late wife, to whom he was married for 36 years.
His message read: ‘Thank you to everyone who has shared such kind messages about Joan. Our whole family are so touched by the outpouring of love. It brings us great comfort and it means so much to us all…
‘We’re the kind of family that now just want to celebrate Joan and the wonderful life she lived. I feel so fortunate to have met her all those years ago…
Richard Branson gave a heartbreaking update on his grief on Tuesday, following his wife Lady Joan Branson’s death aged 80 last month (the couple pictured in 2008)
His message read: ‘Thank you to everyone who has shared such kind messages about Joan. Our whole family are so touched by the outpouring of love. It brings us great comfort and it means so much to us all’
He shared both an old picture of the couple and a more recent snap
‘She was just a joy to be around – as so many of your messages reiterated. Sending big hugs to everyone who has been in contact. And to anyone who has lost a family member recently, our thoughts (and Joan’s thoughts, I’m sure) are with you as well.’
The message was met with a slew of support from his pals, with Naomi Campbell sharing a number of dove emojis, Natalie Pinkham writing: ‘Gorgeous pics and words’ and Lizzie Cundy penning: ‘Beautiful pics and words thinking of you.’
Last month, the Daily Mail revealed a twist of ‘fate’ amidst terrible tragedy meant Sir Richard was able to be with his wife in the final hours before her unexpected death.
He flew the 4,000 miles from India to London for medical treatment after coming off his bike during a charity event, the Strive Challenge.
Sir Richard had been at the Taj Mahal but a fall on to his shoulder meant he ended up in a separate room on the same floor of the same British hospital as Lady Branson.
Subsequently, it also allowed him to be ‘right by her side’ just before she died ‘quickly and painlessly’. He said it was ‘fate’, allowing them to enjoy a laughter-filled lunch and added that they were like ‘love-struck teenagers delighted to find each other again’.
But only around 24 hours later, she passed away aged 80. The Branson family announced her death the following day.
The couple share three children, Sam, Holly and Clare Sarah, who sadly died at just four days old.
The message was met with a slew of support from his pals, with Naomi Campbell sharing a number of dove emojis, Natalie Pinkham writing: ‘Gorgeous pics and words’ and Lizzie Cundy penning: ‘Beautiful pics and words thinking of you’
The couple are pictured with their two adult children, Holly and Sam
In his initial announcement of her passing, Sir Richard revealed on how she had died alongside a series of sweet images.
Describing what happened in a piece called Remembering Joan, he said: ‘Fate has a strange way of working. As many already know, I’d come off my bike in India and hurt my shoulder. Joan was recovering from her own back injury in hospital in England.
‘In the way life sometimes surprises you, I found myself moved to a room just down the corridor from her.
‘We laughed together about how typical it was of us to end up on the same floor, like love-struck teenagers delighted to find each other again.
‘We had a lovely lunch that day. She was in positive spirits and getting stronger. She smiled at me, that radiant smile that lit up her whole face, the same smile I fell in love with the very first moment I saw her, half a century ago….
The couple married in 1989
‘Then suddenly, she was gone, quickly and painlessly. And thankfully, I was right by her side. It brings us all great comfort to know we were together.’
Sir Richard, who said he is now with the couple’s two adult children Holly, 44, and Sam, 40, added: ‘What an incredible final year we all had together…
‘Her beautiful 80th birthday celebration at Kasbah Tamadot in Morocco, surrounded by her closest friends; Sam’s 40th celebrations onboard Virgin Voyages; countless moments where she was beaming with happiness.
‘She lived so fully and joyfully, always thinking of others, always lifting everyone else up. To see her so happy in those last months is something we will treasure forever.’
Sir Richard Branson and Lady Joan Branson at her 80th birthday in July. She died last month
Signing off the tribute, Sir Richard called his late wife his ‘shining star’, adding: ‘We are devastated she is gone. But I am far more grateful for the extraordinary gift of the life we shared – with our remarkable kids, Sam and Holly, and our wonderful grandkids, who adored her (and her sweets!) just as deeply as I did.
‘Joan was my everything, the shining star around which our family’s universe has always orbited. That light is not gone; it’s just taken on a new shape. It will guide us forward. And we will carry her with us, always.’
It comes as an emotional video of the pair getting married on Sir Richard’s private island, Necker Island, in 1989 has come to light, showing the business magnate putting a ring on Lady Branson’s finger.
The couple met in 1976 at The Manor, a live-in recording studio for Virgin Records, where Sir Richard said he ‘fell in love’ at first sight.
