Maclean’s Magazine chooses Will and Kate as newsmakers of 2011

TORONTO, Ont. –  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.”

But the public’s fascination with them did not end after they left Canada, as Kate has been spotted in several photographs with her hand on her stomach.

“The constitutional changes mean that their first baby – whether it’s a boy or a girl – will be third in line to the throne. I think that’s a big deal because I think they’ve brought a freshness to that house of Windsor,” Honey added.

To some people at Yonge and Bloor, however, 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.

“The economy should have been a bigger story rather than the wedding,” a woman chimed in.  

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

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

“It’s a good story and it shows that there’s good marriages still to be, and hopefully that will turn to be true,” said another.

And this man told 680News, he has mixed feelings.

“I loved it, but no. I don’t think it’s the major current event of the year. I would go with the Arab spring.”

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.”