Aretha Franklin has cancelled her engagement to long time friend William "Willie" Wilkerson.

The 69-year-old singer released a statement today saying there had been a change in plan and they were no longer planning on tying the knot this summer.

It was just three weeks ago that the Queen of Soul made the announcement she was going to wed for the third time but already those arrangements are on hold.

"Regretfully, To Our Friends and Supporters: Will and I have decided we were moving a little too fast," she wrote.

"There were a number of things that had not been thought through thoroughly. There will be no wedding at this time."

"We will not comment on it any further because of the very personal and sensitive nature of it. We appreciate all of the many well wishes from friends."

Aretha is notoriously private about her personal life and rarely speaks about her relationships.

But she told Jet magazine in 2007 that she and Will were longtime friends.

"Will and I are very close," she said. "We stayed close and he escorts me on occasion and we're just cool. We're real cool."

The wedding would have been the third marriage for the Chain of Fools singer having previously been married to Ted White for eight years.

Following their split in 1969 she married Glynn Turman in 1978 but they divorced six years later.