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383:. During the ceremony a crowd of several hundred people watched the 130 guardsmen on parade at the zoo, and a citation from the King was read out, which described Nils as a penguin "in every way qualified to receive the honour and dignity of knighthood".
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in 1972, Egelien arranged for the regiment to adopt a penguin. This penguin was named Nils Olav in honour of Nils
Egelien, commander of the drill platoon, and Olav Siggerud, contingent commander of HMKG in 1972.
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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
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364:. 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
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270:. The name 'Nils Olav' and associated ranks have been passed down through three king penguins since 1972, the current holder being Nils Olav III.
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of 1961 for a drill display, a lieutenant named Nils
Egelien became interested in the zoo's penguin colony. When the King's Guard returned to
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375:, awarded during a visit by soldiers from the Norwegian King's Guard on 15 August 2008. The knighthood was approved by
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A third penguin, Nils Olav III, took over at some point between 2008 and 2016. On 22 August 2016 he was promoted to
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337:) in the regiment. He has been promoted each time the King's Guard has returned to the zoo. He was made a
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Nils Olav outranked the human Nils
Egelien from 2005 onwards; Egelien died on 11 December 2020, aged 87.
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and in 2001 promoted to 'honourable regimental sergeant major'. On 18 August 2005, he was appointed as
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in a ceremony attended by over 50 members of the King's Guard. On 21 August 2023 he was promoted to
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816:"Edinburgh penguin's GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS ™ title upgraded after historic promotion"
726:"Nils Olav the most famous king penguin in the world, parades his way to a new honour"
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of the same regiment. During the 2005 visit, a 4-foot-high (1.2 m)
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gave a king penguin to
Edinburgh Zoo when the zoo opened in 1913.
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and Nils was the first penguin to receive such an honour in the
700:"Penguin power: Norwegian regiment honours pint-sized chief"
449:"Generalmajor Nils Olav III: Ikke oppkalt etter kong Olav"
656:. Norwegian Consulate in Edinburgh. 17 August 2005.
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616:. Vol. 15, no. 4. Fall 2008. p. 9.
628:"The Edinburgh Military Tattoo Programme 1961"
8:
679:"King penguin receives Norwegian knighthood"
478:"King penguin made a Brigadier in Edinburgh"
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790:"Sir Nils Olav promoted at Edinburgh Zoo"
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278:The family of Norwegian shipping magnate
654:"Nils Olav promoted to Colonel in Chief"
554:"Sir Nils Olav, Norway's Penguin Knight"
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770:from the original on 27 December 2019
706:from the original on 24 February 2009
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731:Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
702:. Sydney: ABC News. 16 August 2008.
738:from the original on 23 August 2016
660:from the original on 1 October 2006
533:from the original on 17 August 2017
488:from the original on 23 August 2016
593:from the original on 24 March 2012
583:"Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'"
325:Nils Olav was initially given the
14:
560:from the original on 8 April 2013
552:Panganiban, Roma (4 April 2013).
848:(in Norwegian). 30 December 2020
451:(in Norwegian). Forsvarets Forum
447:Eikli, Erling (22 August 2023).
398:as the highest-ranking penguin.
305:Sir Nils inspects troops of the
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898:1972 establishments in Scotland
928:Individual animals in Scotland
360:of Nils Olav was presented to
321:The bronze statue of Nils Olav
1:
394:. Nils Olav is recognised by
184:before 2016 – present (third)
923:Hans Majestet Kongens Garde
685:. Retrieved 13 June 2010. (
213:Hans Majestet Kongens Garde
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938:Mascots introduced in 1972
341:in 1982, then promoted to
181:1987 – after 2008 (second)
953:Norway–Scotland relations
347:regimental sergeant major
291:Edinburgh Military Tattoo
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958:Norwegian Army personnel
426:List of individual birds
963:Norwegian Army generals
79:Aptenodytes patagonicus
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396:Guinness World Records
371:The next honour was a
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287:Norwegian King's Guard
258:, Scotland. He is the
880:Article with pictures
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247:[ˌnɪlsˈôːlɑv]
172:Years of service
983:World record holders
973:Organization mascots
948:Military of Scotland
842:"Nils Steen Egelien"
612:"Norwegian Knight".
63:Nils Olav II in 2008
37:55.94444°N 3.27222°W
933:Individual penguins
556:. mentalfloss.com.
98:Edinburgh, Scotland
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33: /
734:. 22 August 2016.
681:. 15 August 2008.
614:Scandinavian Press
589:. 15 August 2008.
484:. 22 August 2016.
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280:Christian Salvesen
237:III, Baron of the
233:Major General Sir
42:55.94444; -3.27222
968:Norwegian knights
634:on 7 October 2006
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913:Bird mascots
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850:. Retrieved
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632:the original
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307:King's Guard
289:visited the
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268:King's Guard
252:king penguin
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118:Nils Egelien
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75:King penguin
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16:King penguin
846:Aftenposten
537:21 February
114:Named after
40: /
892:Categories
852:29 January
710:21 October
432:References
373:knighthood
243:Norwegian:
137:Allegiance
25:55°56′40″N
826:6 October
800:6 October
774:3 January
742:24 August
597:14 August
492:22 August
455:24 August
388:brigadier
295:Edinburgh
285:When the
235:Nils Olav
104:Residence
52:Nils Olav
28:3°16′20″W
875:Scotsman
870:BBC News
768:Archived
736:Archived
704:Archived
687:Archived
683:NBC News
664:29 March
658:Archived
591:Archived
587:BBC News
558:Archived
531:Archived
486:Archived
482:BBC News
405:See also
368:, Oslo.
343:sergeant
339:corporal
155:Service/
638:2 March
274:History
250:) is a
94:Hatched
70:Species
564:4 June
366:Huseby
358:statue
355:bronze
260:mascot
157:branch
149:Norway
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854:2024
828:2023
802:2023
776:2020
744:2016
712:2008
666:2021
640:2007
599:2008
566:2013
539:2018
494:2016
457:2023
327:rank
262:and
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192:Rank
120:and
89:Male
329:of
86:Sex
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
