He was the eldest son of London Sephardic Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Parliamentarian Ralph Bernal, himself an MP, who died in 1854, and his wife Ann Elizabeth (née White).

He later served with the 7th (Royal Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot, and finally left the army in 1844 with the rank of Captain.

He had already been elected to Parliament in 1841 as a member for Chipping Wycombe, in the Liberal interest, and later sat for Middlesex (1847–1857), Dover (1857–1859), Liskeard (1859–1865), Nottingham (1866–1868), and Waterford City (1870–1874).

When he died, his house at Newtown Anner, Clonmel, County Tipperary, Munster, Ireland, was surrounded by more than 13,000 acres (53 km2) of land.

[2] Together, they were the parents of two daughters: His wife died on 21 June 1880 at Newtown Anner House in County Tipperary.