Now the story of the doomed relationship between a British aristocrat and his secretary is to be turned into a film by Lord Attenborough, the Oscar winning director of Gandhi and Shadowlands.

The Silver Ghost, which will star Christian Bale, of Batman Begins and Empire of the Sun, will tell the story of the 13?year affair between John Montagu, who later became Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, and Eleanor Thornton, his secretary.

It will reveal that Montagu’s wife, Lady Cecil, condoned the relationship and even befriended Thornton, who went on to have Montagu’s child.For his part, Montagu was so infatuated with “Thorn” that he asked her to model for an emblem to place on the bonnet of his Rolls.

A mutual friend, Charles Sykes, who was an artist and sculptor, crafted a figure of her in fluttering robes, pressing a finger to her lips to symbolise the secret of their love. Officially called The Spirit of Ecstasy, but known as The Whisperer by those who were party to the secret affair, the symbol would go on to inspire subsequent designs for Rolls-Royce emblems.

Montagu, a passionate motoring enthusiast and Tory MP, fell in love with Eleanor in 1902 after she began working for him on his car magazine, The Car Illustrated.

But the relationship was kept secret from all but a tiny circle of other members of the family and friends.

Montagu, a keen aviator and driver who came third in the Paris-Ostend road race in 1899 and who introduced the future Edward VII to motoring, was one of the most high-profile figures of his day. The disclosure of an affair that crossed class barriers and involved a love child would have caused a national scandal.

Montagu’s son, the present Lord Montagu, is acting as a consultant on the £40?million film.

A source close to the project said: “It is a story that has aristocratic intrigue and glamour, a passionate love affair at its heart and plenty of thrills and spills along the way. Very few people will be familiar with the names of the couple at the heart of the story. But everyone knows the piece of sculpture which was inspired by their love for each other.”

The relationship ended in tragedy. During the First World War, Montagu was dispatched to India with the Army, to oversee the effectiveness of motorised units. He and Eleanor were travelling aboard the SS Persia on December 13 1915 when it was hit by a German torpedo in the Mediterranean.

Although Montagu survived, by clinging to an upturned life boat for 36 hours, Eleanor went down with the ship. Her body was never recovered.

An exchange of letters just before the voyage shows how informal and close the Edwardian love triangle was.

In a letter to her husband dated 1915, Lady Cecil, who had continued to tolerate the relationship, wrote: “I hope and pray that you may come back safely?… I am proud to know that you are so much wanted and that your services are appreciated. I am glad that Miss Thornton is going to Aden.”

In a letter to Lady Cecil, Eleanor wrote: “You have the satisfaction to know that he will be well looked after. I do not think for one moment that there will be any trouble in the Med, but supposing?… the lord will have an extra chance, for there will be my place in the boat for him, even if he has to be stunned to take it.”

Lord Montagu, said he was delighted that the story was heading for the big screen.

“It is a story that is obviously well known within the family itself now,” he said.

“My father and Eleanor shared a great passion. It was a grand love affair – perhaps even the love of his life. All this happened before my father met my mother. But I understand my father’s first wife knew about the mistress. She was very tolerant of her and they got on very well.

“It is a source of great pride for me that there is a connection between my family and Rolls-Royce, the most famous car in the world.”

He added: “I have known Lord Attenborough all my life and he has been down here a couple of times. We couldn’t be in safer hands.”

After the death of his wife in 1919, Montagu went on to marry again, this time to Pearl Crake, and had four more children by her.

In later life, he did not seek to cover up his illicit romance with Eleanor Thornton, unveiling a plaque in her memory in the Montagu family chapel. An exhibition about the sinking of the Persia will open at Beaulieu next month.

Source: TeleGraph UK

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