Bangladesh declares three days of mourning for Queen Elizabeth

Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the nation's figurehead died at her home in Scotland at the age of 96

The Bangladesh government has announced three days of state mourning in honour of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II after her death on Thursday.

The period of mourning will start on Friday, according to ABM Sarwer-E-Alom Sarker, assistant press secretary to the prime minister.

Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the nation's figurehead, died peacefully at her home in Scotland, aged 96.

Following her death, her son Charles automatically became king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The queen had been suffering from "episodic mobility problems" since the end of last year, forcing her to withdraw from nearly all her public engagements, according to Buckingham Palace.

Her last public duty came on Tuesday, when she appointed Liz Truss prime minister - the 15th of her reign.

Elizabeth was just 25 when she ascended to the throne following the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb 6, 1952.

The queen visited Bangladesh, which was once under British rule, on two occassions during her reign.

She first came to Dhaka, then provincial capital of East Pakistan, in February 1961.

Her second visit came over a decade after the country's independence in November 1983. During the four-day trip, the queen travelled to the village of Bairagir Chala in Gazipur's Sreepur by train from Dhaka and held court there.

She also visited the National Memorial in Savar and the office of Save the Children in Dhaka.

The Bangladesh government also issued a few commemorative postage stamps in 1977 to mark the silver jubilee of her accession to the British throne.