- Who
- Sir Nils Olav III
- What
- Major General ranked #1
- Where
- United Kingdom (Edinburgh)
- When
The highest-ranking penguin is Sir Nils Olav III, a male king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) who holds the rank of Major General of His Majesty the King’s Guard of Norway and Baron of Bouvet Island. Sir Nils resides at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, UK, where he was bestowed the honour on 21 August 2023 – a promotion from his previous rank of Brigadier.
Major General Sir Nils Olav III was knighted by King Harald V of Norway in 2008 and is the mascot of Norway's Hans Majestet Kongens Garde (King's Guard) unit. A penguin was first presented to Edinburgh Zoo by Norway in 1913, and in 1972, when the Norwegian King's Guards paid a visit, a penguin was adopted and named Nils Olav in honour of King Olav V. The chosen bird was made a Lance Corporal then later a Corporal (1982), Sergeant (1987), Regimental Sergeant Major (1993), Honourable Regimental Sergeant Major (2001), Colonel-in-Chief (2005) and Bridagier (2016). The current Sir Nils is third incumbent.
