These gardens received their name because it is believed that Al ibn Ysuf's army camped here in 1109 while attempting to retake Madrid's main square. The initial improvements were made by Philip IV, whose reign saw the construction of fountains and the planting of various kinds of vegetation, albeit the site's overall beauty was fairly neglected. Due to a lack of funding, several landscaping initiatives modeled after the gardens of the palace of La Granja were carried out during the construction of the new palace, but it wasn't until Isabella II's reign that more significant landscaping got under way. At this period, a sizable park in the Romantic style was planned, and fountains from the palace of Aranjuez were added. After Isabella II's death, the gardens went through a period of neglect and abandonment during which part of the design was lost. It wasn't until Maria Cristina of Habsburg-Lorraine took the throne that a series of restoration projects were started, giving the gardens their current design, which is based on the layout of the 19th-century English parks.