AMMAN (REUTERS) - When Prince Hamza visited the relatives of Covid-19 patients who died after a hospital ran out of oxygen, he triggered a rift in Jordan's monarchy that has shaken the country's reputation as a stable country in a volatile region.

The March 14 visit to the city of Salt was, in the words of a senior establishment figure, the "straw that broke the camel's back", coming as it did hours after King Abdullah had visited the hospital and publicly scolded management for the nine deaths.