US Vice President Joe Biden ‘broken-hearted’ as son Beau, 46, dies of cancer

Beau Biden, the eldest son of US Vice-President Joe Biden and the former attorney general of Delaware, has died of brain cancer. He was 46.

Beau Biden, who had served in Iraq as a lawyer with the Delaware Army National Guard, had been undergoing treatment at the Walter Reed Medical Centre just outside Washington.

"He battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life," the vice president's family said.

"The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau's spirit will live on in all of us - especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter."

Beau Biden was a popular Democrat in his East Coast state of Delaware and had once been expected to follow his father onto the national political stage.