In November 1975, the Prince escaped from Laos by swimming across the Mekong river to Thailand.

He was head of the Laotian royal family and acted as Regent to his nephew Crown Prince Soulivong Savang.

In September 1997, he and his nephews Crown Prince Soulivong Savang and Prince Thayavong Savang initiated a Royal Lao Conference in Seattle, United States, over three hundred Lao exiles and representatives of the Hmong community.

A resolution was established at this historic meeting between the Lao and Hmong leaders and the royal family and it held the common goal to change "the totalitarian regime to a genuine democratic system", and "the reunification of the Lao people".

In July 2000, he came under harsh criticism from some quarters after allegedly ordering the Vang Tao raid; he denied prior knowledge of the military attack against the Communist government of Laos.