Thomas Benolt is reported to have served Kings Edward IV and Richard III as a pursuivant, but these claims cannot be substantiated.
He was also on the pension list of the King of France following the peace of 1514, and was given a gold chain by the Holy Roman Emperor.
These were part of his duties as an officer of arms and ranged from the funeral of Henry VII in 1509 to the coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533.
When he was made Clarenceux he delegated most of his armorial functions to Thomas Wriothesley, Garter Principal King of Arms.
Benolt swayed the king in his favour in the end and gained a commission to hold heraldic visitations.
Benolt was noted as absent and sick from College of Arms functions at Easter in 1534 and he died on 8 May.