Richard Branson’s wife, Joan, likely suffered a fatal blood clot in her lungs following a fall, an inquest has been told.

Lady Joan Sarah Drummond Branson, 80, died on November 24 at the Lister Hospital in Chelsea, west London, after an earlier fall.

After her death, Sir Richard described her as the ‘shining star around which our family’s universe has always orbited’.

A full inquest into Lady Joan’s death will take place on September 9, with several witnesses due to give evidence.

Professor Fiona Wilcox, senior coroner for Inner West London, told a virtual pre-inquest review hearing on Wednesday that the coroner’s court isn’t about ‘point scoring’.

She added: ‘I want to explore the facts, come to the correct conclusions and learn lessons from this.’

An expert who has provided a report for the inquest said during Wednesday’s hearing that there is ‘clear evidence of pulmonary embolism’ – a blood clot in the lungs.

He also said the ‘overwhelming likelihood is there was a DVT’ (deep vein thrombosis) – a blood clot in a vein.

Lady Joan Sarah Drummond Branson, pictured here with Sir Richard, died on November 24 at the Lister Hospital in Chelsea

The couple on their wedding day on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands

Lawyers representing the Lister Hospital, which is part of HCA Healthcare UK, attended the pre-inquest review hearing.

Paying tribute to Lady Joan, Sir Richard wrote: ‘Life will never be the same without her. But we have 50 incredible years of memories – years filled with tears and laughter, kindness, and a love that shaped our family more than words could ever capture.

‘It was a relationship that worked. We just had lots of laughs. We were very lucky.’

A hearing at the same court in May heard her family, most notably Sir Richard, 76, their daughter Holly, 44, and their son Sam, 41, are not looking to apportion blame over the death.

Speaking at that hearing, 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.’

Lady Branson had a history of blood clots, the court heard, going back at least as far as 2010.

Then in 2018, she awoke one morning in 2018 to find her leg three times the size it usually was.

The couple’s daughter Holly recently shared an emotional tribute to her late mother as she reflected on the ‘initial shock and pain’ of her passing

Sir Richard and Lady Branson first met in 1976 at The Manor, a former recording studio in Oxfordshire, England

Announcing her death, Sir Richard described Lady Branson as ‘my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world’

After rushing to hospital, she and Sir 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 a compression clot, 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 Lady Branson’s death, her husband, Virgin tycoon Sir 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 Lady Branson 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.

Sir Richard and Glasgow-born Lady Branson 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.

The couple had three children, Holly, Sam and Clare Sarah. Clare Sarah died shortly after birth in 1979.