Branson was born in Blackheath, London, the eldest of three children born to barrister Edward James Branson (1918–2011), and Eve Branson (born 1924), a former ballet dancer and air hostess.[5][6] Branson has two younger sisters.[7] His grandfather, the Right Honourable Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson, was a judge of the High Court of Justice and a Privy Councillor.[8] Branson was educated at Scaitcliffe School, a prep school in Berkshire, before briefly attending Cliff View House School in Sussex.[9] Branson attended Stowe School, an independent school in Buckinghamshire until the age of sixteen.[9] Branson has dyslexia and had poor academic performance as a student, and on his last day at school, his headmaster, Robert Drayson, told him he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire.
Branson's parents were supportive of his endeavors from an early age.