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Celine Dion has begged forgiveness from her fans after cancelling all her Las Vegas shows until June.

Following an examination last week, Dion's doctor diagnosed a weakness in her right vocal cord and prescribed up to eight weeks of rest.

"Obviously this is the worst thing for a singer... not being able to do your shows," Dion.

"I feel worse knowing that I'm disappointing my fans. I'm so sorry... I hope they forgive me."

Dion, 43, is midway through a three-year residency at Caesars Palace, where tickets to her show sell for as much as $250 (£155).

She began experiencing discomfort with her vocal cords last week but had initially anticipated returning to work at the weekend.

However, a doctor in Los Angeles said Dion was suffering from inflammation of the vocal cords caused by a virus and advised her to cancel all shows until 9 June.

Tickets for the cancelled performances will be refunded.

Return to form

"I tried to sing at my soundcheck last week and I had no control of my voice whatsoever," said Dion, in a statement.

"We thought that after a few days' rest I would improve but it wasn't getting any better. I guess it was worse than I thought."

Dion continued: "I'm fortunate that I was able to see Professor Berke. He assured me that with the amount of rest he prescribed, I would be back to 100%."

Her previous run at Caesars Palace, which began in 2003 and was eventually extended to five years, earned more than $400m (£250m).

The Grammy-winning singer, who remains best known for the Titanic theme song My Heart Will Go On, gave birth to twin boys in 2010.