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New military honour for penguin Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'
(about 5 hours later)
A penguin who is a Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Army is set to be bestowed with a new military honour. A penguin who was previously made a Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Army has been knighted at Edinburgh Zoo.
Edinburgh Zoo penguin Nils Olav has been an honorary member and mascot of the Norwegian King's Guard since the 1980s. Penguin Nils Olav has been an honorary member and mascot of the Norwegian King's Guard since the 1972.
Over the years, he has been promoted through the ranks and is currently the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief. Over the years, he has been promoted through the ranks after being adopted by Royal Guard who visited the zoo.
He is set to receive a further honour from the army, which has not yet been revealed, on Friday. During the ceremony, Nils had a sword dubbed on each side of his head, where his shoulders should be, to confirm his regimental knighthood.
The regiment recruited its first penguin when a young lieutenant called Nils Egelien first visited the zoo in the 1970s. A crowd of several hundred people joined the 130 guardsmen at the zoo. A citation from King Harald the Fifth of Norway was read out, which described Nils as a penguin "in every way qualified to receive the honour and dignity of knighthood".
The current Nils Olav replaced the original bird, who died about 20 years ago. The guardsmen come to see Nils every few years while they are in Edinburgh performing at the city's Military Tattoo.
The Guardsmen visit Nils regularly when they are in Edinburgh performing at the city's Military Tattoo. The proud penguin was on his best behaviour throughout most of the ceremony, but shortly before the ritual was concluded and possibly suffering a bout of nerves he was seen to deposit a discrete white puddle on the ground.
He has received medals for long service and had a 4ft bronze statue built in his honour. 'Extremely proud'
'New promotion' Drawing a polite veil over that, Darren McGarry, animal collection manager at the zoo, said afterwards: "It went extremely well and we are delighted that the Norwegian Guard honoured Nils Olav with a knighthood.
David Windmill, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the charity that owns Edinburgh Zoo, said: "We have a long-standing history with the Norwegian King's Guard and it is something we are extremely proud of. "We all enjoyed the occasion and Nils was a perfect penguin throughout."
"It's an honour that they take the time to visit us and we are all looking forward to welcoming them on Friday. British Major General Euan Loudon officiated at the ceremony.
"Edinburgh Zoo is famous for its king penguins and Nils Olav is definitely the most famous of them all." Mr McGarry, added: "Nils always recognises the Norwegian guardsmen when they come to visit him.
Darren McGarry, animal collection manager at Edinburgh Zoo, added: "Nils always recognises the Norwegian Guardsmen when they come to visit him. "He loves the attention he receives at the ceremony and takes his time inspecting the troops."
"He loves the attention he receives at the ceremony and takes his time inspecting the troops. Nils has also received medals for long service and had a 4ft bronze statue built in his honour.
"We're all very excited about his new promotion and we've all been wondering what it could be." Guardsman Captain Rune Wiik said: "We are extremely proud of Nils Olav and pleased that an enduring part of the Royal Guard is resident in Scotland helping to further strengthen ties between our two countries."
Norwegian King's guardsman, Captain Rune Wiik, said: "We are extremely proud of Nils Olav and pleased that an enduring part of the Royal Guard is resident in Scotland helping to further strengthen ties between our two countries." However, the penguin honoured on Friday is unfortunately not the original Nils Olav.
He died in the 1980s and was replaced by a two-year-old penguin at the Zoo.
Norway presented the zoo with its first king penguin in 1913, the year of its opening.
David Windmill, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the charity that owns Edinburgh Zoo, said: "We have a long-standing history with the Norwegian King's Guard and it is something we are extremely proud of."