The Baroness

Rachel and her sister Claire grew up in a stately home, Butley Priory in Suffolk, as the daughters of the wealthy Count De Lengham, a descendant of a long and ancient line of aristocrats. They had their own coat of arms and led a seemingly privileged existence, but behind the closed doors of their mansion house life for Rachel and Claire was not what it seemed. They endured extreme levels of neglect. Rachel was given particular attention by her father and was trained to become every inch the baroness. He called upon her to attend elite parties and events with the highest echelons of society. As they grew older though, Rachel and Claire's relationship with their parents became increasingly strained and they found themselves becoming estranged, but when Count De Lengham became ill and the family were told he was near death, they were there for him. In that moment, he revealed a mind-blowing deathbed confession that would change their lives forever...

A natural entrepreneur, Rachel Watkyn is Managing Director of The Tiny Box Company which started in her bedroom in 2007 as a solution to the lack of sustainable and ethically sourced packaging available to small businesses. Tiny Box is now the UK's largest online gift packaging e-commerce company with 100 staff, over 700 products and 100,000 customers, ranging from one-person start-ups to international corporations.
Spending her formative years in care after a traumatic early childhood, Rachel was dragged from pillar to post, learning how to adapt quickly in difficult situations and fast-changing environments. Whilst working in Sierra Leone during the military coup, the extreme poverty she witnessed drove her vision for Fairtrade business. This began as a jewellery company, The Tiny Difference Company, founded on the idea that we may not be able to change the world, but we can all make our own, tiny difference in it.

The resilience she developed during her childhood prepared Rachel for business and helped her overcome difficulties including multiple bouts of cancer, fire, flooding, an IT hack, and Covid-19.
Winning investment from two Dragons on the BBC's Dragon's Den, Rachel has since gone on to become the show's most successful female entrepreneur to date and regularly comments on women's entrepreneurship, women's leadership, green business practices and sustainability.

She has been featured on BBC radio, The Daily Mail, The Times Newspaper, as well as multiple business and trade magazines and. She is the winner of the 2020 NatWest Everywoman Award and the 2020 Rural Business Award.
Most recently, Rachel Watkyn has been awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 Honours list for her outstanding contributions to Sustainability, Ethical Business Growth, and Exports.
This prestigious accolade is a testament to Rachel's commitment to sustainable practices within the packaging industry. Her visionary leadership and innovative approach have not only propelled Tiny Box Company to new heights but has also set a new global benchmark for ethical business operations.

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