LAOS: The Umbrella Man

In the languid, landlocked little Indo-Chinese kingdom of Laos, a man's rank is told by the color of his umbrella.. Old King Sisavang Vong, who reigns in the royal capital of Luang Prabang, rates a white umbrella. Lesser noble fry rate umbrellas of varying hues and sizes. Viceroys, for instance, are entitled to yellow.

When the Japanese set up the independent kingdom of Laos on the eve of their departure in 1945, an autocratic and petulant prince named Phetsarath decided he was tired of his viceregal yellow umbrella, deposed his uncle King Sisavang Vong, and named himself head of...