Inchmahome there was a church on the island before the priory was established. The priory has a long history of receiving many notable guests. King Robert the Bruce visited three times, in 1306, 1308 and 1310. His visits were likely politically motivated, as the first abbot had sworn allegiance to Edward I, the English King. In 1358 the future King Robert II also stayed at the priory. In 1547 the priory served as a refuge for Mary, Queen of Scots, aged four, hidden here for a few weeks following the disastrous defeat of the Scots army at the Battle of Pinkie
Political and military events in Scotland during the reign of David I being bound to the tails of four horses. Whether or not the two events were connected, Máel Coluim escaped unharmed into areas of Scotland not yet under David's control, and there gained shelter and some measure of support; when Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair renewed his claim to the throne six years later, he had the support and protection of the king of Moray. In either April or May of the same year David was crowned King of Scots (Gaelic: "rí(gh) Alban"; Latin: "rex Scottorum") at Scone. If later Scottish and Irish evidence can be taken as evidence, the ceremony of