Royal visitors

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 the Bruce, David II and 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.

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 The 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 widespread belief that Saint Ninian’s shrine was a powerful place of healing.

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

• Saint Duthac in Tain and
• Saint 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.

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 Saint Ninian resulting from his pilgrimage.

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.

Whithorn may have held a special significance for the queen: at Roscoff in Brittany, where she had landed when was sent to France as a five year old, there was another shrine to Saint Ninian.

Queen Elizabeth

Echoing the royal progresses of the past, Queen Eliabeth 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 Elizabeth’s visit, full of crowds of excited well-wishers, hint at the reception her Stewart ancestors might have experienced on their visits.