He was also Chaplain and dining companion (commensualis) of his uncle, Pope Clement, in the Apostolic Palace in Avignon.

[13] As Bishop of Limoges, Nicolas was present at the Papal Court in Avignon on 16 January 1344 when Louis IV the Bavarian swore fealty to Pope Clement VI.

In his speech (collatio) after the discussion and decision, Pope Clement remarked, "But what will you say about this Bishop of Limoges [Nicholas]?

[16] On 2 December 1344, the new Cardinal was present at a Consistory at which the Pope issued a bull in favor of the Abbey of Jumièges.

At mid-morning on 18 December they elected Cardinal Étienne Aubert,[18] who took the name Innocent VI.

[19] Some months after the Conclave, in 1353, the body of the late pope was transferred to his monastery at La Chaise-Dieu (Casa Dei), where he lies in the center of the Choir of the church.

[20] In 1362, Cardinal Nicolas de Besse joined Cardinals Guy of Boulogne and Pierre de Belfort in an effort to arrange a settlement in a dispute between the Count of Armagnac and the Vicomte of Turenne concerning the Baronies of Pertuis, Meyrargues, Sederon, and Les Pennes.

[22] In the end a compromise candidate was elected, Abbot Guillaume Grimoald of S. Vincent in Marseille, who was Legate of the Apostolic See in the Kingdom of Sicily, and was not present at the Conclave.

The decision was taken perhaps on September 28, but it was not made public until the day after the arrival of Abbot Grimoald in Avignon, 31 October.

The party stopped in Viterbo while Pope Urban took the body of his late friend Cardinal Egidio Albornoz, who had died on 24 August, to Assisi, where he had wished to be buried in the Basilica of S. Francesco.

[27] The Emperor Charles IV paid a visit to Italy in 1368,[28] and, on All Saints Day, 1 November 1368, the Pope crowned the Empress Elizabeth in the Vatican Basilica.

[31] It was in Rome on 5 November 1369, two weeks after the Emperor's profession, that Cardinal Nicolas de Besse died.