Cute little Penguin gets made Knight of the Realm

Nils Olav is a penguin. But not just any penguin. Everything started in 1972 at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland during the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the annual military music festival, when the penguin became a mascot of the King’s Guard.

The name, he got it from lieutenant Nils Egelien who declared him an honorary member of the military and after Olav V., king at the date. Even though the penguin died, every time he was replaced and kept the name, the notoriety and the rank. The Nils Olav of today is the third penguin which in 2005 got promoted from regimental sergeant major to honorary colonel-in-chief of the elite Norwegian King’s Guard.

After lots of medals for good conduct and long service, Nils Olav became the most royal of all penguin on Friday after a knighthood ceremony at the Zoo. With a fanfare behind and escorted by the King’s Guard Color Detachment, he inspected the troops and stopped to crane his neck at every little detail before moving forward. He was thorough.

On behalf of Norway’s King Harald V, British Maj. Gen. Euan Loudon took care of taking off the colonel-in-chief badge and wrap the new one to its flipper. Nils Olav will be a SIR now.

Aye aye sir!

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