In November 1701 it is reported that Packer lost the thumb of his left hand in an accident with a gun.
[1] Packer was well established in the county, and was appointed a deputy-lieutenant in 1703 and served as High Sheriff of Berkshire for the year 1708 to 1709.
When St. John was raised to the peerage as Viscount Bolingbroke in 1712, Packer was returned unopposed Member of Parliament for Berkshire at the ensuing by-election on 23 July 1712.
He was co-opted to present an address from the county to the Queen before he had technically taken his seat in the House of Commons.
His eldest son Winchcombe Howard Packer inherited his seat in parliament and the Winchcombe inheritance which he finally gained possession of in about 1733, after an ongoing dispute with Bolingbroke.