The Real Influencers: Sir Henry Royce

The world’s most famous car name comes from a most unlikely alliance. If ever there were an odd couple of the motor industry, it was Charles Rolls and Henry Royce.

The former was a wealthy young aristocrat educated at Eton and Cambridge. There, among many achievements – although few academic – he was the first undergraduate to own a car.

The latter, whom we will concentrate upon today and whose influence on Rolls-Royce was by far the greater, was the poor son of a farmer-cum-miller. He would describe his father as clever but lacking application. This clearly influenced young Henry. As we shall see, Royce’s ability to apply himself single-mindedly to a task was perhaps his greatest strength. Unlike Rolls, he had little formal education.