Man who brought singing sensation Adele to Lancaster Library shares his very special Royal memories

Stewart Parsons, who launched Get It Loud In Libraries in Lancaster, was among the congregation for the historic event in Westminster Abbey.

“My invitation came out of the blue and I was quite shell shocked. It was a surreal moment but I also felt delighted and honoured to be invited,” said Stewart.

The invitation came about because Stewart had received a BEM medal for services to libraries and live music, which began when he launched Get It Loud in Libraries in Lancaster in 2005.

Back then, he was chief music librarian and obsessed with making the library as cool and contemporary as possible to attract new users.

This popular series of gigs among the bookshelves saw early appearances by some of today’s biggest music stars and has since been rolled out nationwide.

Stewart described the music at the Coronation as utterly stunning, saying: “Bryn Terfel had me on the point of tears, he was just sublime.”

Spotting Nick Cave, Katy Perry and Simon Armitage among his fellow guests was also quite a thrill for Stewart, who was seated in the nave behind Ant and Dec and between the governor of the Bank of England and Nick Cave.

“I walked out of the abbey with Kelly Jones from Stereophonics but couldn't think what to say to him,” Stewart said.

He shared this special experience with his wife Elizabeth. Officially, no plus ones were invited to the Coronation but as Stewart is still recovering from a rare stomach cancer, he requested a place for his wife, just in case he had any problems on the day.

The couple still run Get It Loud In Libraries but after living in Warton for 15 years, Stewart has since moved to Dumfries and Galloway.

Although Stewart has never met the new King and Queen, he was just 10 yards away from the royal procession in the abbey.

He said: “Despite all its grandeur, the event felt quite intimate.”