From king penguin to a highly decorated knight. Sir Nils Olav III, a resident king penguin at the Edinburgh Zoo, has recently been promoted from an honorary member of the king of Norway's guard to Brigadier. A special ceremony was held to commemorate his promotion.

The ceremony was attended by more than 50 Norwegian soldiers from the unit. Video of Sir Nils Olav III walking past members of the guard and receiving a medal was captured in a video.

As mentioned by The Telegraph, Barbara Smith, acting chief executive for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said: "We are honoured to host His Majesty the King of Norway's Guard as they bestow a prestigious new title upon our king penguin, Sir Nils Olav.

"It is a very proud moment and represents the close collaboration between our two countries, Scotland and Norway."

The three-foot tall penguin was made honorary colonel-in-chief of the elite Norwegian King's Guard in 2005 and was knighted in 2008.

According to The Guardian, the tradition of bestowing ranks to penguins started in the early 1970 when a young lieutenant from the Norwegian army Nils Egelien fell in love with the penguin colony during his annual visit to the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

He decided to adopt and make one of the king penguins as a mascot and honorary member.

NBC News reported that they picked the name Nils Olav as inspired by Nils Egelien and Norway's then-King Olav V.

When the original Nils Olav died, they decided to continue the tradition. Sir Nils Olav III who was promoted as Brigadier is only the third penguin to serve as the guards' mascot.

Just like any member of the military group, Nils Olav is required to wear something to distinguish him from other penguins. Because he cannot fit a uniform, an insignia is used as alternative.

Mental Floss explains that since you cannot take penguins to wars, Nils Olav's is honored "outstanding service and good conduct," meaning he should be well mannered towards other penguins and stands tall when called to attention.

Tags penguin, Edinburgh, knight, brigadier, Sir Nils Olav III, Edinburgh Zoo, Royal Norwegian Guard, Penguin Military

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