Norway Knights a Penguin?

Yes, you heard that correctly. Norway knights a penguin and his name is Sir Nils Olav. 

Sir Nils Olav III being knighted in Edinburgh Zoo.

Sir Nils Olav III is a King Penguin from the Edinburgh Zoo.

He was knighted by the Royal Norwegian Guard because of his long and faithful service to the community. 

If you were wondering why he was named this, 

According to the BBC; back in the early 60's, it would be one of the Norway King's Guard that named the penguin. He was part of a military band from 'His Majesty the King's Guard 3rd Company', and fell in love with penguins. So the guard decided to name a penguin after him. 

I dug up some more information about Sir Nils Sten Egelien. 

Sir Nils Olav

He was born in Norway. According to Korean War Legacy website, he was born in on January 23, 1932 to religious parents. He graduated in 1949. Out of the 200 soldiers from the Military Training School, he was the only one being sent to Korea. 

He served as a guardsmen (Military Rank - a member of designated as a guard) to NORMASH (Norwegian Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), a field hospital in South Korea. 

Sir Nils has done an interview with Korean War Legacy Foundation, which you can find below with this Link.

There he talks about the 'Unsung Heroes of NORMASH', his experience with working for them, the intensive amount of soldiers who need medical care, the day-to-day operations from other staff during the war. 

His discovery of Gutenberg Bible upon his discoveries in Korea. 

And his love for a Traditional Korean Folksong, called 'Arirang'. And how its endearing towards many cultures from Korea, every Autumn is has. 

Sir Nils Sten Egelien passed away in 2020. He was 87 years old. 

Back to the BBC article and knighting the King Penguin, his new name is 'King Olav V'. 

Sir Nils Olav III now resides in the Edinburgh Zoo. 

Notations:

BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/66580190

Korean War Legacy: https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/nils-sten-egelien/