Lady Joan Templeman’s death at a private London hospital could have been prevented if doctors had prescribed blood-thinning medication, a coroner has ruled.
Professor Fiona Wilcox, senior coroner at Inner West London Coroner’s Court, concluded that the 80-year-old wife of billionaire Sir Richard Branson died from a pulmonary embolism after clinicians at Lister Hospital failed to give her anticoagulant drugs. Templeman passed away on November 24, exactly two weeks after she suffered a fall at the couple’s Necker Island home in the Caribbean.
Wilcox delivered her findings following an inquest that examined the circumstances of Templeman’s final days. “I do find her death would have likely been prevented and the lack of anticoagulation did cause or contribute to her death probably,” she stated.
The coroner determined that a sudden blockage in a lung artery, caused by a blood clot traveling from deep veins in her legs, killed the Scottish-born businesswoman. The medication Enoxaparin, an injectable blood thinner, was not administered despite Templeman’s medical history and recent long-haul travel, both factors that increase clotting risk.
Templeman’s daughter, Holly Branson, raised alarms about her mother’s care in an email to the court before the inquest began. She expressed skepticism that her mother had refused the medication, noting that Templeman was “accustomed to” taking the anti-clot injections.
“Had I been aware she was not receiving Enoxaparin injections I would have been very concerned given her recent long haul travel and medical history,” Holly wrote.
Dr. Basir Kunduzi, the physician on duty when Templeman arrived at Lister Hospital, told the coroner he had considered prescribing the blood thinner but withheld it due to bleeding concerns following her fall. He ordered a CT scan instead to check for internal bleeding, then documented his decision against anticoagulation in her medical records while assuming another doctor would review the call.
Kunduzi later expressed regret for that choice.
Dr. Nevil Pavithran, who subsequently took over Templeman’s care, testified that the medication should have been started within 12 hours of admission. He added that there was no actual bleeding risk that would have prevented safe administration of the drugs.
Another treating physician, Dr. Bovill, offered a stark admission of professional failure during the proceedings. “I thought long and hard about this and reflected on it… I should have perhaps been much more forceful,” he said. “It’s to my great regret I did not.”
When questioned whether he had revisited his decision not to prescribe the injections, Bovill responded: “Again, with great regret, I did not.”
Sir Richard Branson, 76, had announced his wife’s death on Instagram in late November without disclosing specifics. In his tribute post, the Virgin Group founder said he was “heartbroken” over the loss. He described Templeman as the “most wonderful” mother and grandmother to their children and grandchildren that he could have “ever wished for.”
The couple had been married for 36 years, a partnership that began before Branson built his Virgin empire and that saw them raise two children, Holly and Sam, while dividing time between their London residence and Necker Island.
The inquest findings add a devastating layer of accountability to what was already a high-profile bereavement. Multiple clinicians involved in Templeman’s care have now acknowledged that standard preventive treatment was omitted, with two doctors explicitly stating their sorrow over choices made during her hospitalization.
The case highlights how quickly post-operative and post-trauma blood clot prevention can become critical, particularly in older patients with recent travel history. Pulmonary embolisms remain a leading cause of preventable hospital deaths when prophylactic anticoagulation is skipped or delayed.
Branson has not publicly responded to the coroner’s findings. The family has maintained a private stance since the initial announcement, with Holly’s pre-inquest email representing their only formal participation in the investigative process.
Lister Hospital, a private facility in Chelsea, has faced scrutiny over its protocols for patient handoffs and medication decisions, particularly when initial judgments are flagged for secondary review. The coroner did not announce any formal recommendations for systemic changes alongside her ruling.
Wilcox’s conclusion that Templeman’s death was “probably” caused or contributed to by the failure to anticoagulate stops short of a finding of gross negligence but establishes clear medical causation for the fatal outcome.
The Branson family continues to mourn privately as the full circumstances of Templeman’s final two weeks emerge through the official record.