Text size 
Sweetheart Abbey, Glenluce Abbey and Lincluden Collegiate Church are cared for by Historic Scotland, an agency of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding and raising awareness of the nation’s built heritage.
For additional information on these properties, visit
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/places
For additional information on these properties, visit
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/places
An impressive line-up of kings, queens and princes have journeyed to Whithorn over the centuries. Royal pilgrims include Prince Edward, the future Edward II of England, Robert Bruce, David II, James III, James IV and James V. In 1955, Queen Elizabeth toured the priory ruins, the first monarch to visit Whithorn since Mary Queen of Scots almost 400 years earlier. The Prince of Wales also visited in 2000, when he was given a guided tour of the site.
Prince Edward of England
 |
In June 1300, Edward I invaded Galloway. It was not long before he received a statement from Pope Boniface VIII demanding that the he withdraw. Edward withdrew, but the next year a larger force, led by his son, Edward Prince of Wales, invaded Galloway. Tradition has it that when the prince proposed to visit Saint Ninian’s shrine at Whithorn, the Scots moved the saint’s image to Sweetheart Abbey, near Dumfries in the south of Scotland. That same night, anxious to receive the offerings of the prince, Saint Ninian supposedly caused the image to be miraculously restored to its shrine some 100 miles (160 km) away! |
King Robert Bruce
| Following in the footsteps of Edward II, whom he convincingly defeated at Bannockburn in 1314, Robert Bruce came to Whithorn in 1329 - just three months before his death. According to tradition, Robert suffered from leprosy and came to pray at Saint Ninian’s tomb, where other sufferers of the disease were said to have been healed. Today, historians believe the king suffered from some other disease or series of conditions. Whatever his ailment, it is thought that his pilgrimage was a painful one, testament both to his courage and the |
 |
King James I
Although not as regular a visitor as some of his successors, James I had a significant impact on pilgrimage.
In 1425, he decreed that all foreign pilgrims could enjoy 15 days' safe passage to visit Saint Ninian’s shrine. This decree demonstrated
- the widespread popularity of Saint Ninian
- and hinted at the highly organised nature of medieval pilgrimage.
Pilgrims from outside Scotland were required to obtain a special badge from the priory, similar to a modern-day passport stamp, for their journey.
Queen Margaret
Margaret of Denmark, the wife of James III, made a visit to Ninian’s shrine in 1473. Royal accounts reveal that she was accompanied by six ladies in waiting who all received new outfits and that the royal party bought a suite of new baggage especially for the trip.
King James IV
Royal accounts document James IV’s devotion to the veneration of the relics of the saints. From 1488, the year he became king, James began travelling across his kingdom on annual pilgrimages, favouring the shrines of
- St Duthac in Tain and
- St Ninian in Whithorn
By 1507, the king was deeply troubled by the belief that his own sins were about to result in some terrifying judgement on his queen and infant son, who had both fallen ill.
 |
With a small party, the king set out for Whithorn on foot. He stopped only to have his shoes repaired and reached the shrine in eight days. When the queen and young prince recovered, James attributed this to the blessings of St Ninian resulting from his pilgrimage. His journeys are well recorded, and form the most complete record of individual pilgrimage in medieval Scotland. These were very public displays of devotion, during which he was seen by his subjects and distributed money to them. |
James’s reign was a period of economic and cultural development in Scotland. But he died aged just 40, fighting at the Battle of Flodden, against the English army of his brother-in-law, Henry VIII.
King James V
Although not the prolific pilgrim his father was, James V visited several shrines across Scotland. He made pilgrimages to Whithorn in 1532 and 1533; the accounts of the Treasury noting that clothes for the king were sent to Whithorn.
As a boy, James was tutored by Gavin Dunbar, a churchman who subsequently became Prior of Whithorn and later became Archbishop of Glasgow and Chancellor of Scotland.
Mary Queen of Scots
Mary conducted many long journeys, known as royal progresses, around Scotland during her reign (1542–67). These were opportunities for her to show herself to her subjects and preside over royal courts.
 |
In August 1563, Mary travelled to Galloway, visiting the important lairds (owners of landed estates) of the region and stopping off at Glenluce Abbey and Lincluden Collegiate Church. She spent the night of 10 August at Whithorn, where she visited Saint Ninian’s shrine. |
Queen Elizabeth
Echoing the royal progresses of the past, The Queen and Prince Philip visited Whithorn Priory in 1955 as part of a tour around Britain following the coronation three years earlier.
Surprisingly, this was the first royal visit to Whithorn Priory since the reign of Mary Queen of Scots in 1563. Photographs from The Queen’s visit, full of crowds of excited well-wishers, hint at the reception her Stewart ancestors might have experienced on their visits.
| The Prince of Wales In his capacity as the Duke of Rothesay, Prince Charles paid a visit to Whithorn in May 2000. He was given a guided tour of the site, visited the museum and listened to a choir of local children singing in the priory ruins. After signing the visitors’ book, he also visited the coastal village of Isle of Whithorn, about 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Whithorn, to meet the bereaved families of seven fishermen from the area. They had lost their lives when the Solway Harvester sank off the Isle of Man earlier that year. |
 |