As King Fernando's illness worsened, he gave the order that he was to be moved from the town of Almada, where he was staying, and taken to Lisbon; he would travel at night so as not to be seen. So it was that they took him in the evening, and no one opened the door or put a candle at the window, because such a prohibition had been announced, and thus, secretly, they took him to his palace. A few days after this, the queen bore a daughter, who was born on 27 September but died soon afterwards. The people suspected that the king was not the father, and not without reason, as he had not been sleeping with the queen for some time, according to the rumours; yet she did become pregnant and did give birth to a number of children, with everyone saying that the king was not the father.

The king lay ill in Lisbon for some days, looking very different from how he had been when he came to the throne; for at that time he looked like a king among men, even if people were not aware that he was the king, and now he was so changed that he did not look like his former self. Sensing that death was very near, and having already made his confession, he asked to receive the Blessed Sacrament. When it was brought to him, the articles of faith were recited to him, as is customary, and he was asked if he believed all those things and had faith in the Blessed Sacrament that he was about to receive. He replied, ‘I believe all these things, as a faithful Christian, and furthermore, I believe that God gave me these kingdoms to govern with justice and in accordance with the law, and because of my sins I did this in such a way that I shall give Him a very bad account of them.’

The king was in great distress as he said this, weeping and asking God to forgive him; everyone present wept in pity. He received the Blessed Sacrament with great reverence and devotion, wearing the habit of Saint Francis as he lay there.

On a Thursday night, 22 October 1383, he began to suffer great pain.