Soon after his marriage, Richard was elected to the House of Burgesses. In 1676 Richard became a member of the King's Council and he served in this capacity off and on until 1698. On one such absence in 1690 he had lost his seat because of his refusal to take the oath of allegiance to William III, King of England ("William of Orange") (1650–1702). However, he was reinstated within a year. Richard was forced to retire from this position because of ill health. The Council was a body that served as the Governor's privy council, the Upper House of the Colonial Legislature, and the Colonial Supreme Court. As early as 1680 he was Colonel of Horse in the counties of Westmoreland, Northumberland and Stafford. He was appointed by Sir Gov. Edmund Andros (1637–1714) to be ""Naval Officer and Receiver of Virginia Dutys for the River Potomac"". Richard II, had one of the largest libraries in the Colony. He spent almost his whole life in study, and usually wrote his notes in Greek, Hebrew, or Latin. It was because of this that he was termed "the scholar". Richard was a supporter of the Established Church.