Conservative leader David Cameron said today he and his wife had been comforted by thousands of letters of sympathy for the loss of their six-year-old son Ivan.
Speaking to a hushed House of Commons for the first time since Ivan died two weeks ago, Mr Cameron also thanked prime minister Gordon Brown for his support.
Mr Brown, whose infant daughter Jennifer Jane died from a brain haemorrhage in 2002, had spoken of the "unbearable sorrow" of a child's death.
"It came straight from the heart and it meant a great deal to Samantha and to me," Mr Cameron said.
"We have had letters from right across the House of Commons and from thousands of people in the country and it has been a great comfort to know that others are thinking of us.
"A lot of letters have come from families who themselves have lost children.
"If there is a common theme in them, it's that while the loss never goes away, there does come a day when you look back at your child's life and you think happy thoughts at their life rather than feel sorrow at their death, and I hope that day will come for us too."
Ivan, who suffered from cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy and needed constant care, died on February 25th, prompting a political truce and a suspension of parliamentary proceedings as party leaders expressed their sympathies.
Reuters
