Edinburgh has a nice zoo; but one of the animals has a distinction that sets him apart from the others: he was knighted. His name is Sir Nils Olav.
The story begins when the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen brought back a king penguin for the Edinburgh zoo. He became the nucleus of the penguin exhibit. Back in 1961, near the fiftieth anniversary of the gift, the Norwegian Royal Guards came back for a visit. One of them, Nils, suggested that they adopt one of the penguins at the zoo as a mascot. Accordingly, he was given the rank of lance corporal.
King Olav V of Norway loved the idea, and the penguin was named Nils Olav. He, and successor penguins, rose in the ranks until the present Nils Olav (the third one to bear that name) was given the rank of Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Guard. And King Harald V knighted him Sir Nils Olav, declaring him in every way qualified for knighthood! Not bad for a resident of Scotland!
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| Here's Sir Nils reviewing the troops. |
9 comments:
He's a big penguin!
That was cool wackey to knight a penguin.
too funny!
Good move. A penguin is satisfied with fish.
You are a fountain of information!
That penguin achieved celebrity!
Could King be next?
I love this whole deal so much!
In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true
or becomes true. John C. Lilly
ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
<3
He's done better than his cousin in Gotham City, for sure!
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