Interesting question, I've often wondered how many of the events obsessed over by historians were received, or unnoticed at the time.

In terms of the Archduke's assassination, I would think that broadly the name Franz Ferdinand would have meant little to many people prior to June 28th in Britain. Of course to some individuals, intellectuals, civil servants in the Foreign Office, politicians, the key players in the dual monarchy would be relatively familiar, but beyond such groups it would be moderately unlikely that many people would be aware who he was. To compare it to the present day, while some prominent international political figures are well known, Trump, Merkel, Putin, Assad - many others are not. How many people can name the heir/lieutenant/second to these figures? Further, how many individuals are aware who the heir is to the Danish, Belgian, Dutch, or Swedish thrones, let alone the current holder?

People would have definitely have understood the assassination to have been an important event, it was definitely rather shocking, particularly due to the death of the Archduke's wife, Sophie, and especially due to the tenderness in their relationship. After being shot, Ferdinand is quoted as having said to his wife: "Sopherl! Sopherl! Sterbe nicht! Bleibe am Leben für unsere Kinder!" - "Sophie! Sophie! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" Such a close relationship was relatively uncommon within royal dynasties, especially so publicly.

However, it is unlikely that the majority of people in Britain, or indeed many countries outside of Austria-Hungary, would have previously been aware of who he was.

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