Richard was born around 1060, the third son of William of the Principate, a Norman count, and Maria, daughter of Guy, the Lombard duke of Sorrento.
Anna Komnene relates that when Richard crossed the Adriatic Sea, his ship was attacked and captured by the Byzantine fleet, who had mistaken him for a pirate.
He was soon released and joined the main Crusader army marching through Bulgaria and Hungary.
Along with Tancred, Richard refused to swear an oath of fidelity to the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, preferring to cross the Bosphorus in secret.
After Bohemund's death in 1111, Richard retired to Marash, where he died in the great earthquake of November 29, 1114.