Holly Branson announces surprise third pregnancy with husband Freddie Andrews

Richard Branson’s daughter Holly Branson has revealed she’s pregnant despite facing fertility issues last year.

Holly, 36, announced her happy news via Instagram on Wednesday with a cute family photo of her kissing her husband while they both carry their three-year-old twins Etta and Artie on their shoulders.

Virgin manager and trustee Holly told her 45.2k followers: ‘Freddie, Etta, Artie and I have some exciting news... our family of four, is soon to become five! We are over the moon!’

Opening up about her struggles with conceiving and IVF, she wrote: ‘Freddie and I started trying for another baby last year, but after the same struggles with conceiving, and a failed attempt at IVF in December, we decided that it probably wasn’t going to happen for us.

‘Then as sometimes happens - even though you never think it will be you - we found out I was pregnant and had conceived naturally. It is the best, and genuinely most surprising, piece of news imaginable.’

She also mentioned that she wouldn’t be participating in Virgin’s charity event series The Virgin Strive Challenge 2018, adding: ‘So although I won't be physically taking part in this year's @virgin @strivechallenge I will be cheering on my wonderful Strive family from the sidelines - good luck guys!’

Holly’s followers were quick to congratulate her and Freddie’s ‘surprise’ pregnancy.

‘Wow, congratulations! This is the best news,’ commented one fan. ‘It’s interesting how the body can keep constantly surprising us. The same thing happened to me. I’m so pleased for all 4.5 of you.’

Another thanked Holly for sharing her IVF journey, writing: ‘Beautiful pic and even better news. Thank you for sharing such a miraculous personal story with us so we can learn from you experience!

‘Wishing you & your family all the best in this joyous occasion.’

Several noticed that a small heart formed between the twins with the sun setting in the distance – how cute is that?!

‘Congrats holly! Have you noticed the heart between your twins’ heads?? So wonderful,’ said one follower, while another agreed: ‘How awesome is the little sun heart – you couldn’t plan a photo like this.’

Earlier this year, Holly spoke about the ‘difficult’ years she has trying to conceive her twins.

‘[I wanted] to raise a healthy, happy, kind, well-grounded family with my husband Freddie,’ she wrote in WEconomy, a book she co-authored with Craig and Marc Kielburger.

‘I wanted Freddie and me to have the opportunity to instill the same value systems and love of life, of people and planet, that our parents had instilled in us.’

Congratulations Holly and Freddie!