by Brad Dison

Each year since 1950, people have gathered at Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle Esplanade in August for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Not to be confused with soldiers having ink inserted into the dermis layer of skin, a military tattoo is a festival consisting of music, dancing, and general merrymaking focused on Scottish heritage and international culture. The most anticipated portion of the festival consists of numerous precision military displays.

Since 1961, His Majesty The King’s Guard of Norway, an elite unit tasked with protecting the Norwegian royal family, has participated in the military displays. In August 1972, while in Scotland for the Tattoo, the Royal Norwegian King’s Guard added another soldier to its regimental ranks. On that day, Nils Olav became a lance corporal, a rank which usually requires long or outstanding service to attain. It was Nils’s first day. His first duty as a soldier was to inspect his troops, a duty he performed with the confidence and skill of someone with much more experience. Nils proudly wore a pennant of the prestigious King’s Guard around his right arm. Most soldiers would have resented a newcomer reaching such a rank without earning it, but no one resented Nils. You see, Nils Olav’s family had deep Scandinavian roots, and he was, himself, a king.

Nils may have been given the rank of lance corporal on his first day, but promotions came slowly at first. In 1982, after 10 years as a lance corporal, Nils received his first promotion when he was made a full corporal. Five years later, he became a sergeant. In 1993, during that year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Nils was promoted to regimental sergeant major. Nils’s promotion and his inspection of his troops was televised in Norway and throughout much of Europe. Nils became somewhat of a celebrity Europe, though most people in America were unaware of his rising fame. In 2001, during a ceremony at the Tattoo in which Nils was awarded the Norwegian Army’s Long Service and Good Conduct medal, the Royal Norwegian Guard promoted him to colonel-in-chief. On the morning of August 15, 2008, Nils’s fellow soldiers gathered for Nils’s knighting ceremony. He has been known as Sir Nils Olav ever since. He eventually rose to the rank of brigadier.

If you are able to watch the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo this Fall, you will probably see Sir Nils Olav’s inspection of the troops. He has done it each year since 1972. But if you were to look closely at photos of Sir Nils through the years, you might notice minute differences in his appearance. You must have a keen eye to notice. In 1987, Nils Olav died and was replaced by a lookalike. He looked so much like Nils Olav that no one noticed. When the lookalike died some years later, he was replaced by yet another lookalike who continued his work in the military as if nothing had happened. Why did news outlets around the world not pounce on the story which should have captured our attention? You see, Sir Nils Olav is a king…a three foot tall king penguin. He lives at the Edinburgh Zoo and is the mascot for the Royal Norwegian King’s Guard.

Sources:

1. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, accessed April 5, 2025, https://www.edintattoo.co.uk/

2. The Guardian (London, England), August 17, 1972, p.6.

3. The Daily Telegraph (London, England), August 18, 1993, p.4.

4. Irish Independent, August 18, 2005, p.T4.

5. East Oregonian, August 15, 2008, p.8.