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Eleanor Velasco Thorton, the Woman who was the Spirit of Ecstasy

Born in 1885 and called Nelly, she later adopted the
names Eleanor and Velasco when she left school. at the
age of 16. She was the love of Lord Montagu's life and
over their 13 -year affair, she and Lady Cecil both
corresponded and worked together to assist him in his
endeavors and to make his life comfortable.

A Love Affair Memorialized by a Mascot
Lord Montagu commissioned Charles Sykes, a sculptor
and also an illustrator, who worked under the
assumed name of Rillette, to make a special mascot of
a woman in flowing robes with her finger to her lips to
crown his 1909 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.
Above: This undated photo in the public domain
shows Eleanor Thorton posing with the Silver Shadow Eleanor was the model and the finger to her lips of the
Rolls Royce that first carried her image. It is a story statue marked the secret relationship between the two
that combines a love of automobiles with a personal
Named The Whisperer, Montagu often referred to
passion.
Eleanor simply as Thorn.
While the name Eleanor Thorton is not
The Whisperer mascot is still unique to the Montagu
commonly acknowledgd in the history of the
family's Rolls -Royces; the original statue is on display
development of the automobile, many people
at the family's Motor Museum, established in 1952 by
recognize her image. The Rolls-Royce Spirit of
the 3rd Baron Montagu at the hereditary estate,
Ecstasy mascot is, arguably, the most
Beaulieu ( pronounced bewley , meaning beautiful place)
recognized automobile emblem in the world
in Hampshire. It was built to honor the second Lord
and Thornton was the model for it. Such an
Montagu. the first person to drive a motor car into the
enduring symbol should have more than a
yard of the Houses of Parliament, and the man who
little romance and as well as some tragedy in
introduced King Edward VII (then, the Prince of Wales)
its background.
to motoring during the 1890s.
The Beginnings of a Professional and
The relationship between Montagu and Thornton was
Personal Affair
both unconventional and lasting. They produced, early
It begins with John Walter Edward
in their affair a daughter, Joan Eleanor Thorton, who
Douglas-Scott Montagu, who became the was given up for adoption.
second Lord Montagu of Beaulieu in 1905. He
Although Eleanor never saw her daughter again, Lord
was an early leader in the British motoring
Montagu, according to his biographer, kept up with his
movement. In 1902 he was also the editor of
daughter and saw her throughout his lifetime. Upon his
his own magazine titled The Car Illustrated.
death in 1929, his family from his second wife, first
He hired Eleanor Velasco Thorton, an artist's
learned of Eleanor's child when Lord Montagu's will
model, who became not only his secretary,
then his personal assistant but also his was read. He made provision for her in the will but the
will was worded to obscure her identity from the family.
inamorata, apparently with the full knowledge
and approval of his wife. Lady Cecil, who How t he Rolls -Royce Connect ion was Made
described Eleanor as a sweet and dependable
The second Baron Montagu introduced sculptor Charles
person , unlikely to cause trouble.
Sykes to his friend Claude Johnson the managing
Eleanor came from humble stock. Her father director of Rolls-Royce Ltd. when Johnson discussed
was an Australian telegraph engineer, her developing a mascot to grace Rolls-Royce vehicles.
mother from a working class family in London. Eleanor posed again for Sykes who developed what
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