Maclean’s chooses Will and Kate as newsmakers of 2011

TORONTO (NEWS1130) –  Maclean’s has chosen its official newsmakers of the year – the couple who captivated the world with their royal wedding at the end of April.

The magazine says Prince William and Kate Middleton were a natural choice for several reasons.

“The most important thing we thought was they brought relevance to the monarchy, which was in danger because of all the years of scandal,” Maclean’s managing editor Kim Honey told 680News.

“It was a real love story too. It was a real love match. The wedding engaged people around the world, and their visit to Canada – William’s promise to the country was that he would come back.”

However, to some people in Toronto, the royal couple wouldn’t have been their first choice.

“With the Tunisia and Egypt and even Syria, I think perhaps something a little more impactful [would have been] a better idea,” one man told 680News.

“Something around what’s been going on either in Libya or Egypt, or stuff like that, to me seems like it might be a bit more relevant,” agreed another.

But this woman said the royal couple’s title is deserved.

“I would say it’s them. They’re everywhere.”

More than two billion people around the world watched the royal couple exchange their vows back on April 29.

In a news release, Maclean’s stated “part of the frenzied excitement over the engagement and marriage of Will and Kate stemmed from the faith that the couple’s love match was real, not staged like royal pairings of the past. This union of the blond son of beloved Princess Diana to a comely commoner suggested the royal family was evolving with the times—and captured the hearts of Canadians.”