Aretha Franklin, the long-reigning Queen of Soul, died on Thursday morning at age 76 from advanced pancreatic cancer.

She passed away at 9.50am at her home in Detroit where she had been under hospice care, reports Daily Mail of UK.

Franklin’s family issued a statement saying her oncologist had confirmed that her cause of death was due to the pancreatic cancer she had been battling.

‘In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family,’ a statement from her family read.

‘We have been deeply touched by the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from close friends, supporters and fans all around the world. Thank you for your compassion and prayers.

We have felt your love for Aretha and it brings us comfort to know that her legacy will live on. As we grieve, we ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.’

Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days.

Franklin, who sang with matchless style on such classics as ‘Think,’ ‘I Say a Little Prayer’ and her signature song, ‘Respect’, announced her retirement from touring last year.

The mother-of-four had battled various undisclosed health issues in recent years.

Her last public performance was at Elton John’s AIDS Foundation gala in New York in November last year.

A professional singer by her late teens and a superstar by her mid-20s, Franklin had long ago settled any arguments over who was the greatest popular vocalist of her time.

She recorded hundreds of tracks and had dozens of hits over the span of a half century, including 20 that reached No. 1 on the R&B charts.

Her records sold millions of copies and the music industry couldn’t honor her enough. Franklin won 18 Grammy awards and in 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Franklin was the undisputed Queen of Soul who sang with matchless style on such classics as “Think,” ″I Say a Little Prayer” and her signature song, “Respect”, and stood as a cultural icon around the globe.