Malet was the son of William Malet, and inherited his father's great honour of Eye in 1071. This made him one of the dozen or so greatest landholders in England. According to the Domesday book he held 221 manors in Suffolk, 32 in Yorkshire, eight in Lincolnshire, three in Essex, two in Nottinghamshire, and one in Hampshire.[1] He also inherited the family property in Normandy.

The error has been perpetuated and appears in that useful Gazetteer of White published in 1885. Lavenham having formed one of the lordships of Malet is an entire delusion. Shortly after the Battle of Hastings William the Conqueror rewarded his brother-in-law Aubrey de Vere with the grant of this and other manors. This Aubrey de Vere lies buried in the Priory of Colne in Essex which he and his wife founded, as appears by the following inscription given by Weever:
" Here lyeth Aubery the first Earl of Guines sonne of Alphonnes de Vere, the whyche Aulbery was the founder of this place and Bettrys hys wyf syster of kyng William the Conquerour."

Having thus regained his superiority, the duke returned to the main battlefield, and he could not gaze without pity on the carnage, although the slain were evil men, and although it is good and glorious in a just war to kill a tyrant. The bloodstained battle-ground was covered with the flower of the youth and nobility of England. The two brothers of the king were found near him, and Harold himself stripped of all badges of honour could not be identified by his face, but only by certain marks on his body. His corpse was brought into the duke's camp, and William gave it for burial to William, surnamed Malet, and not to Harold's mother, who offered for the body of her beloved son its weight in gold. For the duke thought it unseemly to receive money for such merchandise, and equally he considered it wrong that Harold should be buried as his mother wished, since so many men lay unburied because of his avarice.

Battle of Hastings There is evidence that Malet fought on the Norman side at Hastings, regardless of any divided loyalties that may have been caused by family ties. For instance, William of Poitiers wrote of King Harold's remains: "His corpse was brought into the Duke's camp and William [of Normandy] gave it for burial to William, surnamed Malet, and not to Harold's mother, who offered for the body of her beloved son its weight in gold."[3] If Malet was at the Norman headquarters, immediately after the battle, it would be strong evidence that he played a significant role in the Norman victory.