Nils Olav

Nils Olav

Coordinates: 55°56′40″N 3°16′20″W / 55.94444°N 3.27222°W / 55.94444; -3.27222

Sir Nils Olav
Nils Olav wide.jpg
Sir Nils Olav
Born Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland
Allegiance Flag of Norway.svg Norway
Service/branch Norwegian Army
Years of service 1972 - current
Rank Colonel-in-Chief & mascot
Unit Hans Majestet Kongens Garde

Colonel-in-Chief Sir Nils Olav is a King Penguin living in Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland. He is the mascot and Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Royal Guard. Nils was visited by soldiers from the Norwegian Royal Guard on the 15 August 2008 and awarded a knighthood.[1] The honour was approved by the king of Norway, King Harald V. During the ceremony a crowd of several hundred people joined the 130 guardsmen at the zoo to hear a citation from King Harald the Fifth of Norway read out, which described Nils as a penguin "in every way qualified to receive the honour and dignity of knighthood".[2] The name 'Nils Olav' has also been given to two other King Penguins who preceded the current Nils Olav as the King's Guard's mascot.[3]

Contents

Role in the military

The bronze statue of Nils Olav

When the Norwegian King's Guard visited the Edinburgh Military Tattoo of 1961 for a drill display,[4] a lieutenant called Nils Egelien became interested in Edinburgh Zoo's penguin colony. When the Guards once again returned to Edinburgh in 1972, he arranged for the unit to adopt a penguin. This penguin was named Nils Olav in honour of Nils Egelien, and King Olav V of Norway.

Nils Olav was given the rank of visekorporal (lance corporal) and has been promoted each time the King's Guard has returned to the tattoo. In 1982 he was made corporal, and promoted to sergeant in 1987. Nils Olav died shortly after his promotion to sergeant, and his place of honour was taken by Nils Olav II, his two-year-old near-double. He was promoted in 1993 to the rank of regimental sergeant major. On August 18, 2005, he was promoted to Colonel-in-Chief[5] and on 15 August 2008 he was awarded a knighthood. He is the first penguin to receive such an honour in the Norwegian army.[6] At the same time a 4-foot-high (1.2 m) bronze statue of Nils Olav was presented to Edinburgh Zoo. The statue's inscription recognises the King's Guard and the Military Tattoo. A statue also stands at the Royal Norwegian Guard compound at Huseby, Oslo.

Norway presented the zoo with its first king penguin in 1913, the year of its opening.[7]

In Norway he is consistently referred to only as the mascot of the King's Guard[citation needed], although both the plaque on his statue, and the website of the Norwegian Government's Consulate in Edinburgh, refer to his promotion to Colonel-in-Chief.

See also

  • William Windsor (goat)

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nils Olav — (Bronzestatue in Edinburgh) Nils Olav ist ein männlicher Königspinguin, der im Edinburgher Zoo in Schottland lebt. Er ist Maskottchen und Ehrenoberst der königlichen Garde Norwegens. Am 15. August 2008 besuchte er die königliche Garde von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nils Olav — 55°56′40″N 3°16′20″O / 55.94444, 3.27222 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nils-Olav Johansen — (* 12. April 1966 in Bjugn) ist ein norwegischer Jazzgitarrist und sänger. Johansen studierte von 1986 bis 1988 Jazzmusik am Konservatorium von Trondheim und spielte in Bands wie Close Enough (1987 88), Pentateuch ( Blixband , seit 1989) und Big… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nils-Olav Skilbred — (born 15 December 1949) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Telemark during the terms 1997–2001, 2001–2005 and 2005–2009.[1] On the local level, he is a member of …   Wikipedia

  • Nils Olav Fjeldheim — Illustration manquante : importez la Contexte général Sport pratiqué Kayak course en ligne …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nils Olav Totland — Not to be confused with Olav Totland. Nils Olav Totland (born 17 December 1935) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was Minister of Administration from October 1993 to October 1996, in the third cabinet Brundtland. On the local… …   Wikipedia

  • Nils Olav Fjeldheim — Medal record Men s canoe sprint Olympic Games Bronze 2004 Athens K 2 1000 m World Championships Gold 2001 Poznań K 2 1000 m …   Wikipedia

  • Olav Gurvin — (24 December 1893 Tysnes – 3 October 1974) was a Norwegian musicologist, a professor at the University of Oslo from 1957. He co edited the first Norwegian music encyclopedia in 1949, and edited the magazine Norsk Musikkliv from 1942 to… …   Wikipedia

  • Olav Orheim — (born 1942) is a Norwegian glaciologist. He served as director of the Norwegian Polar Institute from 1993 to 2005. He was appointed associate professor in glaciology at the University of Bergen in 1989. Orheim was a central participant in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Olav Totland — Not to be confused with Nils Olav Totland. Olav Totland (11 September 1904 – 26 July 1996) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Bergen in 1969, but was not re elected in 1973. He had… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”