Isabel MacDuff (Iseabail MacDhuibh in Gaelic) was born in Scotland in 1286. Her father was Duncan, Earl of Fife. Her mother, Johanna (Joan) de Clare, was the daughter of the Earl of Gloucester. Isabel’s brother, also named Duncan, was born the previous year.

Late in 1288, Isabel’s father, a man known for selfish and spiteful behavior, was murdered by his own relatives. This made Isabel’s three-year-old brother the new Earl of Fife, who would be reared as a ward of the English court.

In 1302, Isabel’s mother remarried to a man named Gervase Avenel. Isabel herself was married by 1306 to John Comyn, the Earl of Buchan, thus making her a Countess.

By the early part of 1306, it is probable that Isabel had settled into her many roles as the wife of a politically influential husband.

She had no idea how much her life would change by the end of the year.