Former US president George HW Bush has been taken to hospital, according to International media reports.

The 92-year-old is said to be in a stable condition and is “doing fine”, his chief of staff, Jean Becker, told KHOU 11 News.

She said he was expecting to return home in a few days.

However, she did not explain why the former commander-in-chief is being looked after at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

It is understood Mr Bush – the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 – was not expecting to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday due to his health.

He is the father of former president George W Bush and ex-Florida governor Jeb Bush, who sought the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.