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(AP) — Nils Olav already has medals for good conduct and long service.
He made honorary colonel-in-chief of the elite Norwegian King's Guard
in 2005. And on Friday he was knighted. Not bad for a 3-foot tall
penguin — actually, three of them.
A resident of Edinburgh Zoo in
Scotland, the original Nils Olav was made an honorary member of the
King's Guard in 1972 after being picked out as the guard's mascot by
lieutenant Nils Egelien. The guards adopted him because they often
toured the zoo during their visits to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, an
annual military music festival, according to zoo spokeswoman Maxine
Finlay.
The king penguin was named after Egelien and Norway's
then-King Olav V. When the penguin died — Finlay said no one at the zoo
knew exactly when — he was replaced by a second penguin, who inherited
Nils Olav's name and rank.
The current Nils Olav, the third
penguin to serve as the guards' mascot, was promoted from honorable
regimental sergeant major to honorary colonel-in-chief in 2005, Finlay
said.
The knighthood ceremony began Friday morning with speeches
and a fanfare before Nils arrived, under escort with the King's Guard
Color Detachment. Nils then reviewed the troops lined up outside the
penguin enclosure at the zoo, waddling down the row of uniformed
soldiers, occasionally stopping to crane his neck and peer
inquisitively at their crisp uniforms before being guided forward by
his handler.
Nils was then knighted by British Maj. Gen. Euan
Loudon on behalf of Norway's King Harald V. Loudon dropped the king's
sword on both sides of Nils's black-and-white frame, and the penguin's
colonel-in-chief badge, tied to his flipper, was swapped for one
symbolizing his knighthood.
"He'll be a "sir" now," Finlay said.
(AP) — Nils Olav already has medals for good conduct and long service.
He made honorary colonel-in-chief of the elite Norwegian King's Guard
in 2005. And on Friday he was knighted. Not bad for a 3-foot tall
penguin — actually, three of them.
A resident of Edinburgh Zoo in
Scotland, the original Nils Olav was made an honorary member of the
King's Guard in 1972 after being picked out as the guard's mascot by
lieutenant Nils Egelien. The guards adopted him because they often
toured the zoo during their visits to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, an
annual military music festival, according to zoo spokeswoman Maxine
Finlay.
The king penguin was named after Egelien and Norway's
then-King Olav V. When the penguin died — Finlay said no one at the zoo
knew exactly when — he was replaced by a second penguin, who inherited
Nils Olav's name and rank.
The current Nils Olav, the third
penguin to serve as the guards' mascot, was promoted from honorable
regimental sergeant major to honorary colonel-in-chief in 2005, Finlay
said.
The knighthood ceremony began Friday morning with speeches
and a fanfare before Nils arrived, under escort with the King's Guard
Color Detachment. Nils then reviewed the troops lined up outside the
penguin enclosure at the zoo, waddling down the row of uniformed
soldiers, occasionally stopping to crane his neck and peer
inquisitively at their crisp uniforms before being guided forward by
his handler.
Nils was then knighted by British Maj. Gen. Euan
Loudon on behalf of Norway's King Harald V. Loudon dropped the king's
sword on both sides of Nils's black-and-white frame, and the penguin's
colonel-in-chief badge, tied to his flipper, was swapped for one
symbolizing his knighthood.
"He'll be a "sir" now," Finlay said.
