From 1580 onwards, Sintra's popularity suffered a great decline. On the one hand, the dynastic crisis of the same year was a major contributing factor. King Sebastian, who had enjoyed strolling across Sintra's forests at night, and who is said to have heard Camões' lyrical poetry from the poet himself under Sintra's trees, died prematurely in Alcácer-Quibir or Ksar el-Kebir in Morocco. On the other hand, the Philippine dynasty that succeeded him, when Portugal fell under Spanish rule, contributed to the town's neglect. What is certainly the case is that the Monarchy's interest in Sintra declined. Felipe II of Spain, I of Portugal, visited Sintra once, in 1581, and never again. Of this trip, however, he said: 'I have two jewels in my kingdom: the Monastery of Escorial in Spain, and the Convent of Capuchos in Sintra.' Sintra once again became a military bastion in defence of Lisbon. Its days of courtiers strolling across its forest, of great hunts and monarchs summering in the Palace, were over.