First attempts to establish a "Reichsrat" advisory committee had been undertaken by the 1860 October Diploma. As Emperor Franz Joseph's position was weakened by the Second Italian War of Independence and the loss of Lombardy, the Austrian minister-president Count Johann Bernhard von Rechberg und Rothenlöwen sought for a close alliance with the haute bourgeoisie. However, the liberal-minded citizens demanded a parliamentary constitution which finally was promulgated by the 1861 February Patent. Elaborated under Count Rechberg's successor Archduke Rainer and State Minister Anton von Schmerling, it gave way for the transition of Austria to a constitutional monarchy. The newly established bicameral legislature of the Imperial Council included the House of Lords, meant as a class-oriented council to counterbalance the lower House of Deputies, which were sent by the provincial assemblies ("Landtage"). The Patent was rejected in the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, which demanded its own constitution. This eventually led to the creation of the sovereign Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen in 1867.