Was the American declaration known about before the official declaration was formally delivered to the British government? Was there any particular reaction to the fact that the declaration had been signed by Benjamin Franklin, what with him already being internationally famous?
Someone else could probably give you a better answer but its described in the Book " The long fuse" by Don Cook.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Long-Fuse-American-1760-1785/dp/0871136619
I don't have it right in front of me, but the short answer is there really wasn't much of a reaction. The colonies had already been more or less in a state of rebellion, so it wasn't news so much as a formality, and parliament wasn't in session at the time, and wouldn't be for several weeks, so there wasn't much of a government response. It got some discussions in newspapers and magazines, but thats about it.