Fort Belvedere was built 1750-1755, for Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, younger son of George II and Queen Caroline, famous for his role in the Battle of Culloden. It was, at first, merely a folly (a building built as art, instead of having a purely practical purposes). It was used as a summer-house, and seven counties could be seen, as now, from the top of the flagstaff tower. The triangular turreted structure was set in a dense plantation of trees and overlooked Virginia Water, a man-made body of water constructed by Thomas and Paul Sandby at the request of the Duke.