Carlos II's will in favour of Philippe of Anjou was widely deplored internationally. The members of the Grand Alliance of the Hague opposed this potential Bourbon hegemony and sought to maintain the Habsburgs in Castile and Aragon by supporting Archduke Charles. In Catalonia, there was a widespread current of sympathy for Archduke Charles. In June 1705, representatives of the clandestine Catalan opposition signed the Pact of Genoa with England, which included an undertaking by the English monarchy to ensure that the constitutions of Catalonia would be preserved intact, whatever the outcome of the war. In November that year, Archduke Charles was proclaimed king by the Catalans, and the War of the Spanish Succession became a civil war in the Peninsula. The allies suffered a harsh defeat at Almansa (1707), as a result of which Bourbon troops occupied the kingdoms of Valencia and Aragon, as well as some parts of Catalonia, and the ancient privileges of these areas were abolished.