Hats, Caps, and a deliberately weak Swedish crown

The Hats favored mercantilism and repeated attempts to recover power through war, while the Caps represented clergy and peasant interests, freer trade, and press reform. Press censorship was curtailed, while restrictions concerning the monarch and the Church of Sweden remained. Adolf Frederick was selected as heir by the Hats, who valued his weakness and hoped his Prussian marriage would improve relations with Empress Elizabeth. His later attempts to reclaim authority nearly cost him the throne because he could not build or manage a durable coalition. This political structure explains why Swedish strategy could swing with factional priorities and why rulers struggled to coordinate sustained military policy.