Sir Richard Branson has paid tribute to late wife Joan in a special New Year service filled with ‘songs, laughter and tears’, some six weeks after her death at the age of 80.
The billionaire business magnate announced the death of Joan, his devoted wife of 36 years, in a post shared with Instagram and LinkedIn followers on November 25.
‘Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,’ he 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.’
Branson, 75, has since paid tribute to his late wife in a beachfront gathering on Necker Island, the 74-acre private estate he owns in the British Virgin Islands.
The event included Branson’s two children with Joan, Holly, 44, and Sam, 40, both of whom were born before the couple’s marriage on Necker Island in 1989.
In video footage shared across social media, Branson, who appeared to be nursing an arm injury, his children and an assortment of friends were seen dressed in matching white shirts as they walked single file across the island’s rugged coastline.
The Virgin tycoon later gave a speech in honour of his late wife, whose cause of death has not been disclosed, as guests raised flutes of champagne.
Captioning the posts, he wrote: ‘My family and I have always believed in celebrating people’s lives, while they are with us and after they are gone. That is exactly what we did for Joan.
‘We held a beautiful celebration on Necker Island. There were stories, songs, laughter, and tears, all in honour of the most incredible partner, mum, grandmother, and friend.’
Branson revealed the family had chosen to honour Joan’s ‘otherworldly presence’ beneath the ‘brightest moon of the year’ on the final day of a ‘beautiful month.’
Separate images captured the businessman and his son in deep reflection while sat beneath the rising moon on Necker Island’s sweeping beach.
Sharing his own posts from the service, son Sam wrote: ‘A very special service for a very special woman.’
Speaking in November, Branson told Instagram followers how the devoted couple ‘never missed an opportunity to show love’ and always tried to make ‘incredible’ memories together.
He wrote: ‘My sister @VanessaGBranson said we are experiencing uncomplicated grief, because we had such wonderful relationships with Joan, never missing an opportunity to share and show love, saying all we wanted to say and making incredible memories together’.
‘It made me think again how important it is to ensure you are on good terms with everyone in your life, as you never know when it will be too late. Life is short’.
Daughter 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.
She captioned the post: ‘It’s taken a couple of weeks for me to write this, because how do you put 44 years of unconditional love into words?