Norway Knighted a Penguin

Posted by Alex in Animal, Pictures, Politics on August 16, 2008 at 1:36 am



Photo: Edinburgh Zoo

Norwegian King Harald the Fifth has just knighted … a penguin! That’s right, a penguin named Nils Olav, the honorary member and mascot of the King’s Guard since 1972, is not Sir Nils Olav to you:

Penguin Nils Olav has been an honorary member and mascot of the Norwegian King’s Guard since 1972.

Over the years, he has been promoted through the ranks after being adopted by Royal Guard who visited the zoo.

During the ceremony, Nils had a sword dubbed on each side of his head, where his shoulders should be, to confirm his regimental knighthood.

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".

What’s even more intriguing is that the original
Nils Olav died in 1980 - the penguin knighted today was his replacement: Link - via On Deadline

Previously: Norwegian Army Promotes Penguin


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COMMENT

6 comments to "Norway Knighted a Penguin"

  1. Johnny Cat
    August 16th, 2008 at 1:47 am

    Great photo, even tho I’m sick of penguins.

  2. Toe
    August 16th, 2008 at 6:20 am

    Is the penguin “not” Sir Nils Olav to me, or is he “now” Sir Nils Olav to me?

  3. bean
    August 16th, 2008 at 10:41 am

    It must be an awesome feeling to be outranked by a flightless bird in Scotland.

  4. Idil
    August 16th, 2008 at 10:53 am

    Hahahahahaha

    “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 discreet white puddle on the ground. “

  5. Church
    August 16th, 2008 at 11:20 pm

    Huh. The WikiP article on the regiment says he’s the third, while the article on him says he’s the second.

  6. Carl
    August 17th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    I can totally LOLCAT that.

    OMG UNIFORM SUX. CHK MAI TUX LOLZ.


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