Nils Olav the most famous king penguin in the world, parades his way to a new honour
On Monday morning, 22 August, His Majesty the King of Norway’s Guard paid a very special visit to RZSS Edinburgh Zoo to bestow a unique honour upon our resident king penguin Sir Nils Olav. Already a knight, the most famous king penguin in the world was given the new title of “Brigadier Sir Nils Olav”.
The prestigious title was awarded during a special ceremony which was attended by over 50 uniformed soldiers of His Majesty the King of Norway’s Guard, who are taking part in The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo this year. Sir Nils paraded his way up Penguin Walk, whilst inspecting the soldiers of the Guard.
0The regal, black, white and yellow bird is the mascot of His Majesty the King of Norway’s Guard and in 2008 was awarded a knighthood, an honour approved by King Harald V of Norway.
Nils Olav’s story goes back as far as 1972, when a king penguin at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo was named after two people: Major Nils Egelien, who organised his adoption by RZSS Edinburgh Zoo in 1972, and the then-King of Norway, King Olav. RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has had a long history with penguins and Norway, with the Norwegian family of Christian Salvesen presenting the Zoo with its first king penguins in 1914. Soon after, in 1919, the Zoo had the first successful hatching of a king penguin chick, the first outside of the South Atlantic. Since then, RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has been pioneering the science and care of penguins, and penguins have remained an iconic and integral part of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland ever since.
link:
http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/news/article/11711/nils-olav-the-most-famous-king-penguin-in-the-world-parades-his-way-to-a-new-honour/