Buckingham Palace , London , with the Victoria monument in the foreground. The reigning Monarch at the time was not in residence when this picture was taken , as the Royal Standard flag is not hoisted on the flagpole above the palace. On the left is St. James’s Park. The Irish Embassy is behind the palace at no. 17 , Grosvenor Place , named after the Grosvenor family whose Irish base was the recently refurbished Killarney house.