diff --git a/include/wx/gtk/webview_webkit.h b/include/wx/gtk/webview_webkit.h
index 824e55dd1d..c4d5487e86 100644
--- a/include/wx/gtk/webview_webkit.h
+++ b/include/wx/gtk/webview_webkit.h
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ public:
     virtual void EnableAccessToDevTools(bool enable = true) override;
     virtual bool IsAccessToDevToolsEnabled() const override;
     virtual bool SetUserAgent(const wxString& userAgent) override;
+    virtual bool SetProxy(const wxString& proxy) override;
 #endif
 
     void SetZoomType(wxWebViewZoomType) override;
diff --git a/include/wx/msw/webview_edge.h b/include/wx/msw/webview_edge.h
index 3e4d476599..3683a168de 100644
--- a/include/wx/msw/webview_edge.h
+++ b/include/wx/msw/webview_edge.h
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ public:
     virtual bool SetUserAgent(const wxString& userAgent) override;
     virtual wxString GetUserAgent() const override;
 
+    virtual bool SetProxy(const wxString& proxy) override;
+
     virtual bool RunScript(const wxString& javascript, wxString* output = nullptr) const override;
     virtual void RunScriptAsync(const wxString& javascript, void* clientData = nullptr) const override;
     virtual bool AddScriptMessageHandler(const wxString& name) override;
diff --git a/include/wx/webview.h b/include/wx/webview.h
index 2fa343cb54..4209e82685 100644
--- a/include/wx/webview.h
+++ b/include/wx/webview.h
@@ -251,6 +251,7 @@ public:
     virtual void Reload(wxWebViewReloadFlags flags = wxWEBVIEW_RELOAD_DEFAULT) = 0;
     virtual bool SetUserAgent(const wxString& userAgent) { wxUnusedVar(userAgent); return false; }
     virtual wxString GetUserAgent() const;
+    virtual bool SetProxy(const wxString& proxy) { wxUnusedVar(proxy); return false; }
 
     // Script
     virtual bool RunScript(const wxString& javascript, wxString* output = nullptr) const;
diff --git a/interface/wx/webview.h b/interface/wx/webview.h
index 4674d919bc..da27d946c3 100644
--- a/interface/wx/webview.h
+++ b/interface/wx/webview.h
@@ -1211,6 +1211,20 @@ public:
     */
     virtual wxString GetUserAgent() const;
 
+    /**
+        Set the proxy to use for all requests.
+
+        The @a proxy string must be a valid proxy specification, e.g. @c
+        http://my.local.proxy.corp:8080
+
+        @note Currently this function is only implemented in WebKit2 and Edge
+            backends and must be called before Create() for the latter one.
+
+        @return @true if proxy was set successfully or @false if it failed,
+            e.g. because this is not supported by the currently used backend.
+     */
+    virtual bool SetProxy(const wxString& proxy);
+
     /**
         @name Scripting
     */
diff --git a/samples/webview/webview.cpp b/samples/webview/webview.cpp
index 6b2b7e593f..c9c134bfb3 100644
--- a/samples/webview/webview.cpp
+++ b/samples/webview/webview.cpp
@@ -161,6 +161,7 @@ public:
     void OnRunScriptCustom(wxCommandEvent& evt);
     void OnAddUserScript(wxCommandEvent& evt);
     void OnSetCustomUserAgent(wxCommandEvent& evt);
+    void OnSetProxy(wxCommandEvent& evt);
     void OnClearSelection(wxCommandEvent& evt);
     void OnDeleteSelection(wxCommandEvent& evt);
     void OnSelectAll(wxCommandEvent& evt);
@@ -422,6 +423,17 @@ WebFrame::WebFrame(const wxString& url, bool isMain, wxWebViewWindowFeatures* wi
 #endif
     // Create the webview
     m_browser = (windowFeatures) ? windowFeatures->GetChildWebView() : wxWebView::New();
+
+    // With several backends the proxy can only be set before creation, so do
+    // it here if the standard environment variable is defined.
+    wxString proxy;
+    if ( wxGetEnv("http_proxy", &proxy) )
+    {
+        if ( m_browser->SetProxy(proxy) )
+            wxLogMessage("Using proxy \"%s\"", proxy);
+        //else: error message should have been already given by wxWebView itself
+    }
+
 #ifdef __WXMAC__
     if (m_isMainFrame)
     {
@@ -548,6 +560,7 @@ WebFrame::WebFrame(const wxString& url, bool isMain, wxWebViewWindowFeatures* wi
     m_tools_menu->AppendSubMenu(script_menu, _("Run Script"));
     wxMenuItem* addUserScript = m_tools_menu->Append(wxID_ANY, _("Add user script"));
     wxMenuItem* setCustomUserAgent = m_tools_menu->Append(wxID_ANY, _("Set custom user agent"));
+    wxMenuItem* setProxy = m_tools_menu->Append(wxID_ANY, _("Set proxy"));
 
     //Selection menu
     wxMenu* selection = new wxMenu();
@@ -657,6 +670,7 @@ WebFrame::WebFrame(const wxString& url, bool isMain, wxWebViewWindowFeatures* wi
     Bind(wxEVT_MENU, &WebFrame::OnRunScriptAsync, this, m_script_async->GetId());
     Bind(wxEVT_MENU, &WebFrame::OnAddUserScript, this, addUserScript->GetId());
     Bind(wxEVT_MENU, &WebFrame::OnSetCustomUserAgent, this, setCustomUserAgent->GetId());
+    Bind(wxEVT_MENU, &WebFrame::OnSetProxy, this, setProxy->GetId());
     Bind(wxEVT_MENU, &WebFrame::OnClearSelection, this, m_selection_clear->GetId());
     Bind(wxEVT_MENU, &WebFrame::OnDeleteSelection, this, m_selection_delete->GetId());
     Bind(wxEVT_MENU, &WebFrame::OnSelectAll, this, selectall->GetId());
@@ -1374,6 +1388,29 @@ void WebFrame::OnSetCustomUserAgent(wxCommandEvent& WXUNUSED(evt))
         wxLogError("Could not set custom user agent");
 }
 
+void WebFrame::OnSetProxy(wxCommandEvent& WXUNUSED(evt))
+{
+    static wxString s_proxy;
+    if ( s_proxy.empty() )
+        wxGetEnv("http_proxy", &s_proxy);
+
+    const auto proxy = wxGetTextFromUser
+        (
+            "Enter the proxy to use",
+            wxGetTextFromUserPromptStr,
+            s_proxy,
+            this
+        );
+
+    if (proxy.empty())
+        return;
+
+    s_proxy = proxy;
+
+    if (!m_browser->SetProxy(s_proxy))
+        wxLogError("Could not set proxy");
+}
+
 void WebFrame::OnClearSelection(wxCommandEvent& WXUNUSED(evt))
 {
     m_browser->ClearSelection();
diff --git a/src/gtk/webview_webkit2.cpp b/src/gtk/webview_webkit2.cpp
index a50525dedd..ee015a0efa 100644
--- a/src/gtk/webview_webkit2.cpp
+++ b/src/gtk/webview_webkit2.cpp
@@ -994,6 +994,46 @@ bool wxWebViewWebKit::SetUserAgent(const wxString& userAgent)
     return true;
 }
 
+bool wxWebViewWebKit::SetProxy(const wxString& proxy)
+{
+#if WEBKIT_CHECK_VERSION(2, 16, 0)
+    if (wx_check_webkit_version(2, 16, 0))
+    {
+        const auto context = static_cast<WebKitWebContext*>(m_config.GetNativeConfiguration());
+        wxCHECK_MSG( context, false, "no context?" );
+
+        const auto data_manager = webkit_web_context_get_website_data_manager(context);
+        wxCHECK_MSG( data_manager, false, "no data manager?" );
+
+        const auto proxy_settings = webkit_network_proxy_settings_new(
+            proxy.utf8_str(),
+            nullptr // no hosts to ignore
+        );
+        wxCHECK_MSG( proxy_settings, false, "failed to create proxy settings" );
+
+        webkit_website_data_manager_set_network_proxy_settings(
+            data_manager,
+            WEBKIT_NETWORK_PROXY_MODE_CUSTOM,
+            proxy_settings
+        );
+
+        webkit_network_proxy_settings_free(proxy_settings);
+
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    wxLogError(_("Setting proxy is not supported by WebKit, at least version 2.16 is required."));
+
+    return false;
+#else // WebKit < 2.16 doesn't support setting proxy
+    wxUnusedVar(proxy);
+
+    wxLogError(_("This program was compiled without support for setting WebKit proxy."));
+
+    return false;
+#endif // WebKit 2.16+
+}
+
 void wxWebViewWebKit::Stop()
 {
      webkit_web_view_stop_loading(m_web_view);
diff --git a/src/msw/webview_edge.cpp b/src/msw/webview_edge.cpp
index 1dae4dc9c8..adaaefb1e0 100644
--- a/src/msw/webview_edge.cpp
+++ b/src/msw/webview_edge.cpp
@@ -268,6 +268,22 @@ public:
 #endif
     }
 
+    bool SetProxy(const wxString& proxy)
+    {
+#ifdef __VISUALC__
+        m_webViewEnvironmentOptions->put_AdditionalBrowserArguments(
+            wxString::Format("--proxy-server=\"%s\"", proxy).wc_str()
+        );
+        return true;
+#else
+        wxUnusedVar(proxy);
+
+        wxLogError(_("This program was compiled without support for setting Edge proxy."));
+
+        return false;
+#endif
+    }
+
     virtual void* GetNativeConfiguration() const override
     {
         return m_webViewEnvironmentOptions;
@@ -1358,6 +1374,16 @@ wxString wxWebViewEdge::GetUserAgent() const
 }
 
 
+bool wxWebViewEdge::SetProxy(const wxString& proxy)
+{
+    wxCHECK_MSG(!m_impl->m_webViewController, false,
+                "Proxy must be set before calling Create()");
+
+    auto configImpl = static_cast<wxWebViewConfigurationImplEdge*>(m_impl->m_config.GetImpl());
+
+    return configImpl->SetProxy(proxy);
+}
+
 void* wxWebViewEdge::GetNativeBackend() const
 {
     return m_impl->m_webView;