I agree with Hester. There’s little evidence Fred is bright, especially compared to Henrik and even Marge. He can hardly say the simplest sentence in Danish (!) without making a mess of it and that is not an exaggeration. I have seen speculation that he speaks Danish as if he thinks in French and that’s possibly an explanation but the main point is that he is IMO too lazy to be bothered with anything he doesn’t find interesting. He is only really into sports and adventure, I feel. The rest he just sort of skates through.
The contrast to Joachim who diligently does his duty could not be more stark.
So he isn’t „bright“ - so what?! There are many people who aren’t and I don’t think you have to be only because your mother happens to be queen. Of course he had access to the best education, but that still doesn’t mean that he has to be an intellectual. Though I agree that a certain level of education is desirable and it certainly gives you more options if you bring home good grades, I‘d rather have people not judged only by their academic performance. There are many brilliant minds who are complete sociopaths, and I‘d rather have a king who is empathic than brainy, if you have to choose. As I’ve said before, I’ve dealt with quite some royals, and both Fred and Mary have been nothing but kind to „us inferiors“, much more than the oh-so-intelligent Maxima, who wouldn’t even say thank you.
Me issue with Fred is that he’s incredibly lazy and selfish in his interests and work. He’s not up to snuff, primarily because he doesn’t put in the work. He might be mostly friendly when he meets people - I would seriously hope he is! - but his future position isn’t about being friendly. It’s a job with tasks and official functions which he seemingly has little interest in preparing for. He could have stepped down. Instead he seems to want the perks without the work.