Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of the Bouvet Island () is a king penguin who resides in Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland. He is the military mascot[ and colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King's Guard. The name 'Nils Olav' and associated ranks have been passed down through three king penguins since 1972, the current holder being Nils Olav III.]
History
The family of Norwegian shipping magnate Christian Salvesen gave a king penguin to Edinburgh Zoo when the zoo opened in 1913.
When the Norwegian King's Guard visited the Edinburgh Military Tattoo of 1961 for a drill display,
Nils Olav was initially given the rank of visekorporal (lance corporal) in the regiment. He has been promoted each time the King's Guard has returned to the zoo. He was made a corporal in 1982, then promoted to sergeant in 1987.[ Nils Olav I died shortly after his promotion to sergeant in 1987, and his place was taken by Nils Olav II, a two-year-old near-double. He was promoted in 1993 to the rank of regimental sergeant major and in 2001 promoted to 'honourable regimental sergeant major'.][ On 18 August 2005, he was appointed as colonel-in-chief of the same regiment.][ The statue's inscription includes references to both the King's Guard and to the Military Tattoo. A statue also stands at the King's Guard compound at Huseby leir, Oslo.
]
The next honour was a knighthood, awarded during a visit by soldiers from the Norwegian King's Guard on 15 August 2008.[ "King penguin receives Norwegian knighthood" . 15 August 2008. NBC News. Retrieved 13 June 2010. ( Archived on 13 June 2010)] The knighthood was approved by King Harald V and Nils was the first penguin to receive such an honour in the Norwegian Army.
A third penguin, Nils Olav III, took over at some point between 2008 and 2016.
Nils Olav outranked the human Nils Egelien from 2005 onwards;[ Egelien died on 11 December 2020, aged 87.]
See also
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Foo Foo (dog)
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List of animals in political office
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List of individual birds
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William Windsor (goat)
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Wojtek (bear)
External links
