Edward Proger (c. 1621–1713) was a prominent Welsh courtier, politician, and close confidant of King Charles II. Born into a gentry family near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Proger began his royal service early as a Page of Honour to King Charles I. He subsequently became a Groom of the Bedchamber to Charles II, establishing a lifelong friendship with the monarch. During the English Civil War and its aftermath, Proger remained loyal to the crown, accompanying Charles II into exile in Scotland, France, and Spain, despite being expelled from Scotland by local authorities who labeled him an "evil instrument and bad counsellor."
Following the Restoration, Proger's influence at court grew. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Breconshire in 1662 and was granted various offices and land leases, including the keepership of Middle Park and Harewarren at Hampton Court. In 1663, Charles II commissioned Proger to build Bushy Lodge (later Bushy House), a project for which Proger was never fully reimbursed. His proximity to the King made him a target for contemporary satirists; figures such as the Duke of Buckingham and the poet Andrew Marvell accused him of acting as a procurer or go-between for the King and his mistresses, a reputation that later inspired his depiction in Kathleen Winsor's historical novel Forever Amber.
Proger retired to Bushy Lodge after the death of Charles II. Recognized in his later years as the oldest living servant of the Crown, he was awarded a pension by Queen Anne in 1702. He died in late 1713, reportedly from the unusual physical distress of cutting new teeth at an advanced age, and was buried in Hampton church.
