Is Queen Elizabeth forcing Kate Middleton to take on more responsibilities for the royal family? That might be the case, as there's a new report that says the Queen is trying to encourage the Duchess to take on more patronages as she herself slowly starts fading out of the spotlight.

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According to the Daily Mail on Monday, Prince William's wife will become a patron of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, which hosts the Wimbledon championships every summer. Insiders say that Queen Elizabeth is trying to cut down on her workload ahead of her 90th birthday later this year.

One source said, "'The Queen is mindful that she does not want organizations with which she is associated to think that when she turns 90, that's it--it's goodbye. That will not be the case at all."

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Many of the Duchess' critics think this is a good idea, as Kate has been blasted in the past for not doing enough work for the British monarchy. They've accused the young royal of doing too little while spending most of her time sitting at home with her two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, in their Norfolk home.

Some comments from critics include, "Well, somebody needs to force her to do something, but maybe the Queen just thought she would enjoy this," along with, "Perfect fit for our Duchess of Dolittle. She'll probably be more hands on with them than any of her other charities."

Another commenter wrote, "So the Queen is 'forcing' her to take on a patronage that will allow Kate to show up at events she enjoys and count them as work. Poor Kate, however is she going to manage??"

So far Buckingham Palace has not commented on any of the criticism.

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Tags: Kate Middleton queen elizabeth