The Dalai Lama has cancelled a string of event in the US next month after doctors told him he needed "complete rest" following a routine health check.

The office representing the Tibetan spiritual leader said he had cancelled his appearances after doctors advised the 80-year-old to rest.

He had been to Minnesota’s May Clinic for a “routine annual health check-up,” Chime Rigzine, secretary of the Office of Tibet which manages the Dalai Lama’s diary in north America, confirmed.

He added the spiritual leader had no complaints but he had been advised to take “complete rest” and would be returning to India.

News of the Dalai Lama’s health leaked after his representatives cancelled a scheduled appearance at the University of Colorado.

It follows from a busy week in London, where the popular leader provoked a small controversy during an interview with the BBC in which he said a female successor must be good looking.