Adolf Frederick of Sweden

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Adolf Frederick
Adolf Frederick by Lorens Pasch the Younger
King of Sweden
Reign	25 March 1751 – 12 February 1771
Coronation	26 November 1751
Predecessor	Frederick I
Successor	Gustav III
Prince-Bishop of Lübeck
Reign	1727 – 1750
Predecessor	Charles August
Successor	Frederick August
Born	14 May 1710 Gottorp, Schleswig, Duchy of Schleswig
Died	12 February 1771(1771-02-12) (aged 60) Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden
Burial	30 July 1771 Riddarholm Church, Stockholm, Sweden
Spouse	Louisa Ulrika of Prussia ​ ​ (m. 1744)​
Issue	Gustav III of Sweden Charles XIII of Sweden Prince Frederick Adolf, Duke of Östergötland Sophia Albertina, Abbess of Quedlinburg
House	Holstein-Gottorp
Father	Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin
Mother	Princess Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach
Religion	Lutheranism
Signature

Adolf (or Adolph) Frederick (Swedish: Adolf Fredrik; German: Adolf Friedrich; 14 May 1710 – 12 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death in 1771. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach. He was an uncle of Catherine the Great and husband to Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.^[1][2]

The first king from the House of Holstein-Gottorp, Adolf Frederick was a weak monarch, installed as first in line to the throne following the parliamentary government's failure to reconquer the Baltic provinces in 1741–1743. Aside from a few attempts, supported by pro-absolutist factions among the nobility, to reclaim the absolute monarchy held by previous monarchs, he remained a mere constitutional figurehead until his death.

His reign saw an extended period of internal peace. However, the finances stagnated following failed mercantilist doctrines pursued by the Hat administration. The Hat administration ended during the 1765–1766 parliament, where the Cap opposition took over the government and enacted reforms towards greater economic liberalism, as well as a Freedom of Press Act. The Freedom of Press Act is unique for the time for its curtailing of all censorship, retaining punitive measures only for libeling the monarch or the Church of Sweden.^[3]