[imagesource:twitter/edinburghzoo]

Nope, this is not a joke.

Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of the Bouvet Islands, is now the most highly decorated penguin in the world after being awarded the honorary title of Major General in the King’s Guard of Norway on Monday.

The unique ceremony saw some 160 uniformed soldiers visit the Scottish zoo to bestow the unique honour upon the king penguin, including the relevant military pomp and circumstance.

The bird was already a Brigadier but now has the respectable title of Major General Sir Nils Olav III, Baron of the Bouvet Islands. The military mascot is one of a long line of king penguins that have served in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

The weird relationship between the military and the penguins started in 1961 when the Norwegian King’s Guard visited the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo for a drill, and a lieutenant named Nils Egelien fell in love with the zoo’s penguin colony.

The lieutenant thought the march of the penguins was too similar to the units marching to be a coincidence, and when Egelien returned to the Scottish capital a decade later, he arranged for King’s Guard to adopt a penguin.

Since then, every time a Norwegian military unit visited the Scottish Isles, they have bestowed a rank on one of these birds, with the title passing own through generations until the latest honour was pinned to Major General Sir Nils Olav III flipper. And yes, the bird does wear his colours.

It’s not all just a stunt, as the Norwegian military also regularly sends fish and a Christmas card to their lone soldier.

Following a carefully choreographed parade past His Majesty the King’s Guard Band and Drill Team of Norway, who are performing at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo this year, Sir Nils was awarded his new badge at a special ceremony.

The honour means he outranks the soldier he was named after in the 70s, and this is the third incarnation of Nils Olav to have worked its way up the ranks. The real Officer Nils Egelien died in 2020, aged 87.

Arise, Sir Penguin

The highest-ranking penguin in the world, Sir Nils Olav III, has been promoted to Major General by the Norwegian King’s Guard

Sir Nils now holds the third highest rank in the Norwegian Army!

Find out more about Sir Nils https://t.co/mQ4zGKqUbk pic.twitter.com/PVfw9KKz0H

— Edinburgh Zoo (@EdinburghZoo) August 21, 2023

My home town once gave ‘the key to the city’ to a Merino sheep during a particular drunken town festival, but he only kept the honour until the spitbraai on the last evening. The key hasn’t been seen since. True story.

[source:euronews]