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
Scotland in the early modern period the Battle of Langside by forces loyal to the regents led by James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray in 1568, she took refuge in England, leaving her son in their hands. In Scotland the regents fought a civil war on behalf of the king against his mother's supporters. In England, Mary became a focal point for Catholic conspirators and was eventually tried for treason and executed on the orders of her kinswoman Elizabeth I. James VI was crowned King of Scots at the age of 13 months on 29 July 1567. He was brought up as a Protestant, while the