Prince Albert's ultimatum as an off-ramp

Did Prince Albert's changes to the ultimatum make a hot war less likely?

They offered the United States an off-ramp, but the core demand remained firm: Washington had to disavow the insult or accept responsibility for it.

Prince Albert wanted the ultimatum to express hope that Wilkes had acted without authority or had misunderstood his orders. That language offered Washington a face-saving way to release the envoys and distance itself from the boarding. It also insisted that Britain could not tolerate an insult to its flag or endangerment of Royal Mail communications. The apparently gentler wording was therefore diplomatic restraint rather than weakness. Accepting the invitation meant disavowing the affront, while refusing it implied that the United States deliberately owned the violation.