Richard Branson farewells late wife Joan Templeman at celebration of her life

English business magnate Richard Branson has made a touching tribute to late wife Joan Templeman.

In celebration of her life and legacy, the Virgin Group founder hosted a memorial for his partner of almost 50 years on his picturesque private island in the Caribbean.

Branson shared a series of photos from the event to Instagram today, which showed the pair's nearest and dearest in attendance.

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"My family and I have always believed in celebrating people's lives, while they are with us and after they are gone," the British billionaire captioned the post.

"There were stories, songs, laughter, and tears, all in honour of the most incredible partner, mum, grandmother, and friend."

The celebration appeared to include a walk across the 75-acre island, along with speeches and tributes from the pair's family and friends.

It comes after Branson announced Templeman's death back in November. She was 80 years old.

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In an interview with The Guardian in 2014, Branson detailed the first step he took in pursuing the woman he would go on to spend half a century with.

He revealed that Templeman had worked in an antique shop in the London suburb of Notting Hill – which happened to be in close proximity to his office at Virgin Records.

"One day, I hovered uncertainly outside the shop, then built up the courage to walk in," he recalled.

"The shop sold old signs and advertisements, which I pretended to the shop owner, Liz, that I was fascinated by."

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"Over the next few weeks, my visits to Joan amassed me an impressive collection of old hand-painted tin signs, which advertised anything from Hovi bread to Woodbine cigarettes."

Following their eventual marriage in 1989, the couple went on to have three children together; daughters Holly and Clare, and son Sam.

In November, Branson shared a throwback photo of himself with Joan, captioned "I credit a good deal of my success – not to mention my marriage – to being a good listener."

Only a few days later, he took to Instagram to share another photo of him planting a kiss on Joan's head with the caption, "Everyone needs a Joan in their life".

Then, just two days prior to her death later that month, he shared yet another photo of them together, writing "I love this photo of Joan".

But the flood of tribute posts was revealed to be an indication of what was to come, with Branson taking to social media soon after to announce his wife's death.

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