55°56′40″N3°16′20″W / 55.94444°N 3.27222°W /55.94444; -3.27222
 Nils Olav II in 2008 | |
| Species | King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Hatched | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Title | Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of the Bouvet Islands |
| Residence | Edinburgh Zoo |
| Named after | Nils Egelien andOlav Siggerud[1] |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Norway |
| Service |  Norwegian Army |
| Years of service |
|
| Rank |  Major General |
| Unit | Hans Majestet Kongens Garde (Major-General andmilitary mascot) |
Major General SirNils Olav III, Baron of theBouvet Islands (Norwegian:[ˌnɪlsˈôːlɑv]) is aking penguin who resides inEdinburgh Zoo, Scotland. He is themascot[3][4][5] andcolonel-in-chief of the NorwegianKing'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.[2][6]
The family of Norwegian shipping magnateChristian Salvesen gave a king penguin to Edinburgh Zoo when the zoo opened in 1913.[3]
When theNorwegian King's Guard visited theEdinburgh Military Tattoo of 1961 for a drill display,[7] a lieutenant named Nils Egelien became interested in the zoo's penguin colony. When the King's Guard returned toEdinburgh 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.[1]
Nils Olav was initially given therank ofvisekorporal (lance corporal) in the regiment. He has been promoted each time the King's Guard has returned to the zoo. He was made acorporal in 1982, then promoted tosergeant in 1987.[3] 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 ofregimental sergeant major and in 2001 promoted to 'honourable regimental sergeant major'.[3] On 18 August 2005, he was appointed ascolonel-in-chief of the same regiment.[3][8] During the 2005 visit, a 4-foot-high (1.2 m)bronzestatue of Nils Olav was presented toEdinburgh Zoo.[3] 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 atHuseby, Oslo.
The next honour was aknighthood, awarded during a visit by soldiers from the Norwegian King's Guard on 15 August 2008.[9] The knighthood was approved byKing Harald V and Nils was the first penguin to receive such an honour in theNorwegian Army.[10] 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".[5]
A third penguin, Nils Olav III, took over at some point between 2008 and 2016.[2] On 22 August 2016 he was promoted tobrigadier in a ceremony attended by over 50 members of the King's Guard.[2][3][11][12] On 21 August 2023 he was promoted tomajor general.[13] Nils Olav is recognised byGuinness World Records as the highest-ranking penguin.[14]
Nils Olav outranked the human Nils Egelien from 2005 onwards;[3] Egelien died on 11 December 2020, aged 87.[15]
