LONDON - Prince William’s wife Catherine has become the patron of a series of British charities as she takes on a greater royal role less than a year after their marriage, officials said Thursday. Catherine, who turns 30 on Monday, has become patron of Britain’s National Portrait Gallery and drug charity Action on Addiction, and royal patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and art charity The Art Room. She is also becoming a volunteer with the Scout Association and will privately join some of their activities, especially in north Wales where William is based as a Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot.