Then the king of Siam gave the French Laotian and Cambodian territory in the late 1800s. During this period of colonial rule, unlike Cambodia, the French built very few roads or schools and few settled in Laos. Thus, Luang Prabang was able to retain its character despite this colonial domination. In 1945, French domination was briefly halted when the Japanese invaded Laos and interned the Vichy French, the French regained control until 1953, when the US gave the Royal Lao Government protection and the French withdrew from Indochina.
The 1960s and 1970s, Laos was ravaged, enduring civil war and bombings by aerial raids (During this so-called dirty war, more bombs were dropped by US bombers on the northern Lao between 1964 and 1973 than the amount dropped all over Europe by all sides during WWII- i.e. about one bombing run every eight minutes for nine years.) Caught in between Vietnam and the western outposts in Thailand, Laos was infiltrated by guerillas, CIA agents, and communist agents. However, after Pathet Lao's communist consolidation of power in 1975, the monarchy was ended and the royal family was imprisoned "re-education camps" near Vietnam. No one knows for sure what happened to the royal family, but it is believed that the king and queen passed away around mid 1980s due to starvation and neglect.